Draco Meets His Match
by xxstaindrosesxx
Summary: Draco Malfoy was always friends with Gregory Goyle but not his sister Gabriella Goyle. Now in his last year, he realizes how beautiful she is and realizes that their lives and destinies may be linked, especially when it comes to Voldemort.
1. Chapter 1:The Mystery of Gabriella Goyle

Draco Malfoy was sitting on the couch in the Slytherin common room. It was now his seventh year and he was actually glad to be back at Hogwarts. The summer was horrible because Lord Voldemort was not pleased with him for not killing Dumbledore. His own parents were practically slaves to the Dark Lord after he did not succeed in his task. They had offered the Malfoy Manor as the headquarters for the Death Eaters and Voldemort. His parents were still considered trash to their Lord, and he knew it was his fault. He was glad to be sitting between his two friends, Crabbe and Goyle, to escape this hell known as his life.

Draco sat there quietly while his two lackeys shoved their mouths full of candy. He did not mind considering it was their usual routine, and it was far better then staying at the Manor to be yelled at and ridiculed. He stared at the girl sitting on the sofa across from them. Her nose was in a book, which was fairly different for a Slytherin. He watched her flip the page, and he studied her brown curly hair, which fell to the middle of her back and down her sides. She had become taller and more beautiful over the years, and Draco was glad she did not inherit her brother's looks. Yes, he was very glad Gabriella Goyle looked nothing like her brother, Gregory Goyle.

The fact is, Gabriella Goyle had always been there, but she was more in the shadows. Draco had met her back in his second year when she was a first year, and he was shocked to learn Goyle had a sister. He had never mentioned his sister, and now she was a sixth year, only a year younger, and Draco could barely remember Goyle mentioning her throughout the years. She was different from other Slytherins; always reading a lot and doing her own homework. She never beat up or paid other students to do her work for her, and yet she always received excellent grades. Draco did not understand why she was not in Ravenclaw or friends with someone like Hermione Granger, but he left her alone because she was Goyle's sister and she did not bother them.

Draco never had a problem with Gabriella, or Gabby, as Goyle called her. She would follow them around sometimes, but it was usually to talk to her brother. She was never in their way, and she never pestered them. He never understood why she wasn't a part of their little group, but then again, he had never given it much thought. He wondered if she even had any friends. He could recall seeing Pansy talking to her one time, but when he overheard them, Pansy was just trying to get information about Goyle. Draco came to learn about Pansy's true nature. She was the type who would try and get a guy, but when he rejected her, she would move onto the next one. She had tried too hard to be with him, so he blew her off, and this is why he assumed she was talking to Gabriella about Goyle. He was probably her next target.

Draco always had Slytherin girls coming onto him, but he never paid much attention to them. Gabriella had never showed interest in him. She was different then Pansy; more reserved, which explained her always reading and completing her schoolwork. It was no shock to him when she had become a prefect in her year. He was still the prefect in his year after he did not become Head Boy. It did not bother him, considering he did not want the responsibility. He even expected to not receive the position since he had shamed Voldemort, and Snape was now the Headmaster at Hogwarts.

Draco watched as Gabriella closed her book and sat up from the couch. She walked off to the girl's dormitory for the night. Draco turned his attention to Goyle who was still eating candy with Crabbe. "It occurred to me that your sister has been attending this school for six years now, and we know nothing about her." He explained.

Goyle just shrugged as if he wasn't interested in the topic.

"Well, you don't talk about her." Draco mentioned.

"We're close at home," explained Goyle. "It's just different here."

"She's not like other Slytherins." Draco said, stating the obvious.

Goyle started laughing. "Obviously you don't know her." He said, between laughs.

Draco raised an eyebrow as he suddenly became interested. He wanted to know what Goyle meant. "Why?" He asked.

"Let's just say," paused Goyle, "you don't want to take her baby doll when she's five years old."

Draco became even more intrigued. "Why?" He asked, needing to know more.

"My room looked like a tornado hit it. Everything was scattered and broken, and even some of my toys went missing," explained Goyle, not happy as he remembered the event. "And this was before we could even use magic. She did that with her bare hands."

Draco smirked as he thought the story was kind of funny. He could not picture someone so reserved as Gabriella doing such a thing. "Oh, and you remember that black eye Pansy had last year?" asked Goyle. "She didn't get it from falling on a door knob. Gabby gave her that black eye."

Draco gave him a confused look. "What? Why did she do that?" He asked.

"Pansy wouldn't leave her alone," replied Goyle. "She kept asking Gabby things about me, and when she wouldn't respond, Pansy made fun of her, so Gabby punched her."

Draco snickered. "It was one of Pansy's better looks." He teased.

Goyle and Crabbe laughed. "Yeah, but wait until you hear Crabbe's story." Goyle mentioned.

Draco turned his attention to Crabbe. "What?" He questioned, wanting to hear this story.

"I got kind of fresh with her last year and she kicked me in the balls." Crabbe explained.

Draco raised an eyebrow at him. "Fresh?" He questioned, as he began to laugh.

"I couldn't help it. She became hot." Crabbe said, sounding stupid as if he knew nothing about girls.

Goyle picked up the couch pillow and threw it at Crabbe. It hit him straight in the face, but he didn't seem phased as he sat the pillow aside. "Eww!" exclaimed Goyle. "Don't talk about my sister like that."

Draco laughed at the both of them, and then stood up from the couch. "I'm going to crash for the night." He said, before walking off and heading to the boys' dorms.

Goyle and Crabbe were close behind as Draco changed into his pajamas. He crawled into bed and a smirk came across his face as he thought about the stories he had heard about Gabriella. Then, he closed his eyes and fell asleep until tomorrow waited for him.


	2. Chapter 2: The Mark of Destiny

It was now morning, and Draco had already dressed. He headed down to the Slytherin common room where his lackeys were waiting. Goyle and Crabbe were sitting on their usual dark green, leather sofa, they marked as their own, and Draco sat between the two of them. He noticed Gabriella was sitting in the corner at a wooden desk where students attempted to do homework, which failed most of the time since Slytherins weren't too keen on doing homework themselves.

Draco watched as Gabriella continued to read. She turned the page and he wondered what she was reading. He tried to make out the title, but it appeared to be upside down. He found this rather amusing as he turned to Goyle to point out the situation. "Your sister is turning into Loony Lovegood by reading a book upside down." He teased, pointing to Gabriella.

Goyle turned to look at his sister and he wrinkled his nose in disgust when he saw her reading the book upside down. "Hey sis. Why are you reading a book upside down like Loony Lovegood?" He questioned.

Gabriella lowered her book slightly and looked at her brother with a slight glare. "For your information, I'm not reading the book upside down. The cover was misprinted." She explained, raising the book back up and continuing to read.

Goyle just shrugged and turned his attention back to Draco. Draco smirked as an idea struck his mind with an ingenious plan. "I think it is time we bring your sister into our little group." He suggested.

Goyle raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He asked.

Draco nodded. "Yes, and I think you should talk to her about it." He explained, wanting his lackey to do his work for him.

Goyle nodded and stood up from the sofa. He walked over to his sister who was only a few feet away. As he approached, Gabriella slammed her book down on the table and glared at her brother. "You're not done bugging me yet?" She asked, extremely annoyed.

"Draco wants you to join our group." Goyle explained.

Gabriella seemed even more annoyed. "Well, you can tell Draco that if he wants me to join, he can ask me himself." She said, before picking her book back up and ignoring him.

Goyle did not seem hurt by his sister's rudeness as if he was used to it. He walked back over to the sofa and sat down, back in his usual spot. Draco looked at him curiously. "Well, what did she say?" He asked.

"She said if you want her to join, then you can ask her yourself." Goyle replied, putting it in his own words.

Draco smirked as if he enjoyed the challenge. He stood up from the sofa and strutted right over to her as if he was confident with himself. "Hey Gabby." He said, greeting her.

"That's Gabriella to you." She said, not looking away from her book to acknowledge his presence.

"Fine. Gabriella, I think you should join our group." He explained, with his usual suave smile.

Gabriella closed her book and stood up to face him. "You think? I didn't know you could think." She stated, making fun of him.

Draco seemed taken aback. "What did you say to me?" He asked, as if he didn't hear her.

She smirked at him. "You heard me." She replied.

Draco glared at her and stepped closer. "Nobody talks to me like that!" He exclaimed, becoming angry.

Gabriella's smirk turned to an evil smile. "Well, I just did." She said, continuing to provoke him.

Draco's face turned red with anger. He grabbed Gabriella by the shoulders and pushed her against the wall. He stared right in her face, his breathe upon her. To his surprise, she didn't seem phased at all because she was still smiling evilly. Goyle came running over with a look of confusion and fright. "What are you doing?!?" He asked, loudly.

Draco turned his head to Goyle, keeping Gabriella pinned against the wall. "Teaching your sister a lesson." He said his face still red with anger.

"It's alright Greg. I bet he doesn't have the balls to hurt me anyways." Gabriella provoked, still smiling.

Draco turned his head back to face her. His face was even redder with anger. He raised his hand and slapped her across the face. Her head turned to the side as he did. Some hair was in her face, but when she turned her head back, Draco could see her bottom lip was bleeding. He smirked as if he was pleased with himself. Gabriella sucked the blood from her bottom lip before spitting in his face. She laughed, but Draco became furious. He grabbed her wrists tightly and pinned them above her head. "Stop it!" Goyle shouted, disliking how his sister and best friend were treating each other.

Draco ignored him and wiped his face with the sleeve on his arm, which wasn't pinning down Gabriella's wrists. He wanted to strike her again, but he noticed something. Her sleeve had slipped down her arm since her arms were raised above her head. That's when he saw it; the same snake and skull, which were on his arm, the mark of the Dark Lord, which symbolized a Death Eater. She was one of them. She was just like him.

Draco was shocked, as he had never pictured her for a Death Eater. She seemed to be different; more reserved and not like most Slytherins, but now he was wrong. Being a Death Eater meant being worse then other Slytherins, so he found it hard to believe. Bellatrix LeStrange had been the only female Death Eater, but now she wasn't. Draco knew Bellatrix wasn't pretty for a Death Eater, which made her nothing like Gabriella.

Draco was so surprised; he released her wrists from his grip. He stepped backwards to release her from the wall. Gabriella quickly pulled down her sleeve to cover up her Dark Mark. Goyle put a hand on his sister's shoulder. "You alright?" He asked, sincerely.

"I'm fine." She replied, looking at Draco and wondering what he was thinking.

Goyle pulled out his wand from inside his robes and pointed it at his sister's bleeding lip. "Episkey." He said.

A blue glow came from the tip of his wand and Gabriella's lip healed. "Thanks." She said, to her brother.

Draco's mouth opened as if he was going to say something, but then he closed his mouth. His brain seemed unable to form a sentence, and his brain seemed to be disconnected from his mouth so he couldn't produce proper speech. He was still too shocked from seeing her Dark Mark to comprehend anything. He knew Goyle had one, and so did Crabbe, but he didn't understand why Gabriella had one. Most importantly, why didn't Goyle tell him? After all, Goyle didn't seem surprised, and he saw what was going on. Also, Goyle was his best friend so he didn't understand why Goyle would hide this from him.

Just then, Professor Snape came storming into the Slytherin common room. He looked furious as he made his way over to Draco, Goyle, and Gabriella. He glared at Draco with his hateful eyes. "I've been informed by another student that you were forceful with Miss Goyle." Snape explained, in an accusing voice.

Draco had never seen Snape so angry, except when it had to do with Harry Potter. "She provoked me, sir." He explained, as if it was an excuse for his actions.

"You should know better then to hit a fellow," said Snape, pausing.

The pause bothered Draco. Could Snape know Gabriella is a Death Eater?

"Slytherin," finished Snape. "Especially a girl. Now follow me to my office." He demanded.

Snape started walking off quickly. Draco turned around one last time to see Gabriella smiling as if she had been pleased to see him in trouble. He turned back around and quickly trotted off to keep up with Snape. He thought about her as he followed Snape. _"She's so awful," _he thought. _"Nobody says things like that to me and gets away with it, but she just did. She fought back, and now I'm in trouble with Snape when I'm his favorite." _He formed his hands into fists as he became angry just thinking about her. _"If she wasn't Goyle's sister and a Death Eater, I would kill her,"_ he thought. _"Wait. I should anyways. Ugh. She's so awful. I hate her."_

After a few minutes, they reached Snape's office, which was now Dumbledore's old office since Snape had become Headmaster. "Sit down." Snape demanded, sitting down at the chair behind his desk.

Draco sat down in the chair in front of the desk. He was now facing Snape, and he couldn't make out Snape's expression. Then again, Snape was pretty much expressionless most of the time. He did not understand why he was in trouble now, when he was always getting away with things. Snape never seemed to punish him, but maybe his luck was changing. He figured it was best to keep quiet and let Snape talk first. "The Dark Lord has asked me to speak with you." Snape explained, getting straight to the point.

Draco's heart raced as he became scared. The Dark Lord had not been exactly nice to him after he failed to kill Dumbledore. "About what?" He asked, even though he was scared to know.

"He wants you to keep an eye on Gabriella Goyle." Snape explained.

Draco hated her and wanted to have nothing to do with her. Also, he now knew Snape did know Gabriella was a Death Eater. "Is he nuts!?" He exclaimed, not wanting this to be his task.

Snape slammed his fist onto the desk. "You do not question the Dark Lord's orders!" He shouted, but then seemed to calm back down.

Draco was surprised at Snape's behavior. He rarely saw him act out his emotions. "Well, that might be kind of hard to do after I hit her," he complained. "Why can't Goyle do it?"

Snape seemed annoyed, but he kept his cool. "He's too close to her since he's her brother." He answered, which should have been obvious to Draco.

"Well, may I ask why I have to keep an eye on her?" He asked, trying to squeeze out as much information as possible.

"He has a special interest in her," explained the current Headmaster. "But beyond that, I do not question the Dark Lord's motifs. Now you can leave."

Draco nodded and started walking towards the Great Hall for breakfast. He was annoyed and furious at the same time. He hated this girl; possibly even loathed her, and now he had to keep an eye on her. What did that mean anyways? Did that mean he had to get to know her, too? And why did the Dark Lord have a special interest in her? Draco wished he could not be around her, but he was a Death Eater and Voldemort always interfered in their lives. He wondered if he could ever have a remotely normal life, but he doubted it as he entered the Great Hall, where he saw her sitting at the Slytherin table. He saw Gabriella Goyle; the girl he had to keep an eye on.


	3. Chapter 3: The Hero and the Villian

Draco quietly sat down at the Sltyerhin table. He sat between Crabbe and Goyle as usual. Gabriella was sitting across from them on the other side of the table. He was surprised to see Blaise Zabini sitting next to Gabriella, but he figured it was no big deal. After all, Blaise was a Slytherin, and he did talk to them sometimes, so he had every right to be sitting there, even if it was next to Gabriella. Draco made sure to avoid contact with Gabriella after their incident in the common room. He had seen her Dark Mark and he also did not want to make it obvious he was keeping an eye on her.

All of a sudden, owls started flying into the Great Hall to deliver the daily post. One owl swooped down and dropped a letter in front of Gabriella. She opened the letter and started to read it. Draco noticed she had an upset look on her face as he watched her and filled his plate with food. He began to eat as he watched Gabriella pass the letter to her brother, Goyle. He wondered what the letter was about as Goyle read it. "What's that all about?" Draco asked.

Gabriella glared at him and quickly snatched the letter from her brother's hands. "None of your business!" She exclaimed.

Draco was slightly startled by her reaction, but he understood because he wasn't minding his own business. Goyle looked at his sister and then he turned to Draco, obviously not upset with his sister's behavior. "Trust me. You don't want to know." Goyle said to Draco.

Draco wondered if it had to do with the Dark Lord's interest in her. He soon decided against it because it was too risky to send things by owl. He really had no clue what the letter was about, but he figured he would find out eventually. He continued to think as he watched Blaise and Gabriella leaving the table together. They were not holding hands, but he still found it suspicious. "What's with those two?" Draco asked, nudging his head in their direction.

Goyle looked to his sister and Blaise as he watched them leaving the Great Hall. "They're going to Hogsmeade." He replied, turning back to Draco.

Draco raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "He asked her?" He questioned.

Goyle nodded. "Yes. He asked her out of the blue before you arrived at the table." He explained.

Draco thought this seemed fishy. "Are you worried?" He asked.

"No. She can take care of herself," replied Goyle. "So what did Snape say to you?"

Draco knew what Snape had said, but he wasn't going to tell Goyle the truth. "Nothing really. You know how I'm his favorite." He lied, not giving any details because he knew Goyle wouldn't ask questions about this.

Goyle nodded as if he seemed pleased by the response. "Are we going to Hogsmeade?" He asked.

Draco knew he had to discover where Blaise and Gabriella were off to, so he couldn't have Crabbe and Goyle around. "You two go by yourselves. I have some things I need to do by myself." He replied, which was technically the truth.

Goyle just nodded again as if he was completely clueless. Draco never underestimated him though. He knew Goyle could be smart sometimes so he tried to play it cool about Gabriella. Draco knew the stupid one was Crabbe. Crabbe was more of the follower who never asked questions and did as he was told. Goyle on the other hand, wanted answers sometimes, so Draco had to be careful.

Draco figured Gabriella and Blaise went back to the Slytherin common room to change before going to Hogsmeade. He quickly left the table and rushed to the common room. He didn't want to lose track of them because it would make it even harder to follow them. Once he arrived, his accusations were correct because Blaise was waiting in the common room. He figured Blaise was waiting while Gabriella changed her clothes. Draco decided to sit in a leather chair and grab a nearby book to appear busy.

Draco opened the book, oblivious to what the book was about. He made sure his face was covered by the book to avoid being seen. He heard footsteps coming down the stairs from the girls' dormitories. Draco peaked up from the book and saw Gabriella. She was wearing a green plaid skirt, a green fuzzy, long-sleeved sweater, black nylons, and knee high black boots. He thought she looked like a punk person, but it suited her well.

Draco actually thought she looked pretty as he noticed how her sweater dipped down to show the top of her cleavage. He watched as Blaise stood up from the sofa, keeping an eye on the both of them. "Are you ready?" Blaise asked, not giving her any type of compliment about her appearance.

"Yes." Gabriella replied.

Draco watched as the two of them left through the portrait hole. He closed the random book he had found and threw it into the chair once he stood up. He made his way through the portrait hole and saw them on the stairs, heading to the Great Oak Doors. He followed a few feet behind so he wouldn't be seen. He was extremely quiet, but if he thought one of them was going to turn around, he quickly hid behind a statue or went into a side hallway.

After several minutes, they were in Hogsmeade, and Draco still trailed behind unnoticed. He thought it was strange when the two of them started walking into an alleyway behind The Hogs Head. Most students never went there unless they did not want to be seen. Even then, it was rare to see a student there since most went to the Three Broomsticks. "Where are we going?" Gabriella asked as Draco overheard her.

"It's a surprise." Blaise replied while smirking.

At this point, Draco was peaking his head around the corner and into the alleyway. He wouldn't dare enter the alleyway or he would be discovered. "I like surprises." Gabriella said, smiling.

"Then, you will like this one." Blaise suggested with an evil grin on his face.

Suddenly, Blaise started to advance on Gabriella. He grabbed her wrists and pinned her arms behind her back before pushing her against the wall. Gabriella was pressed tightly against the wall and the only mobile part of her body was her head and legs. This changed when Blaise forced her legs farther apart, positioning himself between them so it was impossible for her to kick him in the balls. "What the hell are you doing?!" She exclaimed, becoming afraid of him.

Draco watched in shock and curiosity. _Yes. What the hell is he doing?_ He thought.

Blaise grinned evilly and ran his hand over her cheek. Gabriella trembled at his touch. "I saw your Dark Mark this morning when Draco and you got in that spat," he explained. "I just knew it was the perfect opportunity to use you, so be a good little girl and I'll keep your secret."

Gabriella looked at him in fear as she tried to struggle, but it was no use. "Stop!" She exclaimed.

"No," replied Blaise as his hand touched her thigh and started making it's way up her skirt. "I've seen the way Draco has looked at you the past couple of years. He likes you, but he's too dumb to realize it. I figured this gave me even more motive for hurting you. Ravage the one girl he wants, but is too stupid to realize he wants." Blaise explained even more, pulling at the top of her sweater and revealing more of her cleavage.

Tears now formed in Gabriella's eyes. "STOP! PLEASE STOP!" She shouted and begged.

Blaise put his hand over her mouth. Gabriella's arms were still pinned behind her back and she was unable to move, to scream, to get free. She was completely trapped.

Draco began to think about what Blaise said. _What does he mean by looking at her differently?_ he wondered, questioning himself. _I can't help it if she actually became hot after the years and grew some nice boobs. If I didn't look, it is like I would be gay or something, so excuse me. I hate her anyways. Complete bitch and now I should beat Zabini too._ Draco continued to think, but he snapped back to reality when he noticed Blaise trying to unbuckle his pants with his free hand. _Oh shit._ Draco thought.

Tears flowed freely down Gabriella's cheeks as she was about to be raped by Blaise Zabini right there in Hogsmeade. Her heart raced, as she knew she could not avoid the inevitable. She closed her eyes for a second, and when she reopened them, she saw a flash of red light. It hit Blaise and sent him flying backwards, causing him to land on the ground hard. She looked around to see who had saved her and she saw Draco Malfoy; the last boy on Earth she expected to save her. Gabriella wanted to say something, but they were rudely interrupted.

Severus Snape came rushing over, his black cloak flowing behind him. He had been in the Hogs Head when he heard the commotion and saw the flash of red light. It was no shock when Draco saw him, because shady characters came to the Hogs Head, and Snape was definitely shady.

Snape looked to Blaise on the ground who was struggling to get up from the simple Stunning Spell. Then, he looked to Gabriella who seemed frightened, and then to Draco, giving him a questioning look. "What's going on?" He questioned in a demanding voice.

"Blaise tried to rape me." Gabriella replied, wiping tears from her eyes.

Snape raised an eyebrow at her and looked at her apparel. "Well, maybe Mr. Zabini could control himself better if you dressed more appropriately." He explained, cruelly.

Gabriella became more upset and wrapped her arms around her chest, covering her cleavage.

Snape turned his attention to Draco. "Did Mr. Zabini attempt this?" He asked.

Draco thought for a moment, pondering possible problems. "No. It appeared this way from afar which was why I stunned him," he lied. "Up close she didn't seem upset, but furious I had stunned him, Professor."

Snape paused for a moment. "Since there is no proof, Mr. Zabini cannot be punished." He said before leaving them in the alleyway.

Blaise smiled evilly as he walked away unpunished. Gabriella glared at Draco with hate for lying to Snape. First he saved her, and then he covered it up. "What the hell did you do that for?" She asked, angrily.

Draco knew he was in a tough situation, but he had to explain his actions. "If we didn't let Blaise get away with this, he would tell people about your Dark Mark." He explained.

"And what makes you think he won't?" She asked, furious with him.

"Because he knows I saw him and could go straight to Snape with the truth." He explained, making his decisions clear.

Gabriella looked annoyed. "Bullshit. I think you just like hurting other people," she theorized. "You're a sadistic bastard!"

With this insult, Gabriella punched him in the face. Draco fell to the ground and groaned because it actually hurt. He watched as she ran off, but he noticed a letter had dropped on the ground when she did. He struggled to get up, but luckily, his nose wasn't broken. Instead, he had a black eye.

Once Draco stood up, he picked up the letter she had dropped. He looked at it, realizing it was the letter from earlier. He shoved the letter in his pocket and decided he would read it later to discover what all the secrecy had been about earlier. He headed back to the castle, away from Hogsmeade, as he thought to himself. _Bloody bitch! I should have let her been raped,_ he thought. _First I save her, cover her secret for her, and then she punches me to thank me. Ugh! I hate her. So why did I save her then? _He questioned, before finally reaching the castle.


	4. Chapter 4: A Letter to Unmask Secrets

Once Draco had arrived at the castle from all the commotion in Hogsmeade, he slowly made his way down to the Slytherin common room near the dungeons. He continued to think about the events from earlier, which caused his mind to start hurting. _Why did I save her?_ he questioned himself. _It's not like I could just let her get raped. I mean, I may be evil but I would never sink that low._ Contrary to popular belief amongst the students, Draco had never had sexual relations with a girl. Of course he dated Pansy, but he knew she was just a slut so he didn't touch her. With this in consideration, the thought of raping a girl was absurd to him.

Draco entered the common room to see the attempted rapist, Blaise Zabini, in the flesh. _Bloody bastard!_ He thought. At this same moment, he wondered where Gabriella was, considering she would not want to be near the attempted rapist. Draco marched right over to Blaise with his hands clenched into fists. Anger rose in him, which became apparent by the reddening of his face. "You got some nerve trying to rape an innocent girl!" He shouted.

Blaise looked at Draco with a sneer, which was typically a Draco trademark, but not today. "Innocent?" questioned Blaise with a half-laugh. "I don't think Death Eater falls under the innocent category."

Draco glared at Blaise with such fury it could pierce like knives if given the option. "She didn't do anything to you!" he exclaimed in Gabriella's defense. "But now, I would watch your back, and not just because of her. I'm sure she will have one pissed off brother when he finds out."

Blaise's eyes went wide and his skin seemed to turn whiter as he had not even considered Goyle being a problem. "I'll just stay away from the Goyles then." He said sounding scared for his life.

Draco smirked as he became pleased with Blaise's reaction. "That's right. If you so much as even mutter a syllable to Gabriella, you might be finding Goyle's fist pounding your face to a bloody pulp." He threatened, which could actually be the truth.

Blaise stared at Draco with such a pale face; he looked as if he might vomit. He just nodded and ran off with out a single word. Draco let out a slight laugh before he sat down on his typical sofa. He reached for his back pocket and pulled out the letter Gabriella had dropped by accident. He remembered it was the main reason he came back up here before dinner. He traced the letter with his fingers as he paused to open it. Draco remembered how Gabriella seemed so intent on not having him find out what it was about, as well as, Goyle telling him, 'Trust me. You don't want to know.'

The only problem was that Draco did want to know. His mind needed to be eased with potential possibilities. He needed to know if it was Death Eater business or something worse. He took a deep breath as the anticipation was over by opening the folded piece of parchment. He began to read the letter as every word sank in, as his suspicion became reality. It wasn't Death Eater business, but something far worse. It was far worse then he could imagine if he was put in such a position.

_Dear Miss Gabriella Goyle,_

_I must inform you of your mother's admittance to St. Mungo's. She was admitted with cuts and bruises all over her body, as well as, suffering from a broken wrist. She claimed to have fallen down the stairs, which is a claim I have heard uttered from her mouth too many times to be believable. Although your mother's injuries can be treated in no time, her emotional scars will linger as time goes by. While you and your brother remain speechless. Please spare your mother future pain and misfortune by speaking for her when she cannot do so for herself. _

_Sincerely,_

_Healer Abanatha of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries_

Draco refolded the letter as he sat there pondering the letter's real intention. He knew exactly what the letter was saying. _Gabriella's father beats her mother; his own wife,_ he thought, not expecting to have read this shocking information. _This woman wants them to come forward. Why don't they?_ He questioned, ignoring the reasons why they didn't. Draco knew his father, Lucius, could be a tough man, but he had never hit his family, even when he was angry. Lucius would occasionally abuse them verbally, but it could easily be forgotten.

Draco thought about what he would do if his father had been like that. Then another question came over him. What if Goyle's dad beat him and Gabriella too? He became angry at the thought, but he realized he had struck Gabriella himself. She technically had punched him later, which evened things out, but he worried. He didn't want to remind her of the monster of a father she had by his own actions. Then, he shook the thoughts from his mind, realizing how much of a bitch he thought she was.

However, all his worries and thoughts came rushing back as Goyle entered the common room. Draco wondered if Goyle knew about the attempted rape, which involved his sister, but he became doubtful once Goyle sat down next to him. He handed the letter he had just read to Goyle. "How come you never told me?" He asked, feeling somewhat hurt his friend didn't trust him enough.

Goyle looked down to the floor as if he was ashamed, which was rarely a look on Goyle's face. "We didn't want anyone to know." He said, simply. "It's not exactly something you want to tell people."

Draco nodded his head, as he understood slightly. "I get that," he stated. "But why don't you turn your father in?"

Goyle didn't pause with his response, which showed he had thought about all the options. "He's a Death Eater, Draco. He takes his anger out on our mother so imagine what he would do to Gabriella and I," he explained, obviously thinking it over many times. "Imagine what he would do if he went to Azkaban and then escaped to reek vengeance on us. Plus, the Dark Lord wouldn't be too happy if one of his Death Eaters was put away by other Death Eaters."

Draco nodded as if he understood since he had not given it much thought before. There was still one question, which bothered him, so he paused before he finally asked it. "Has your father ever hurt you or Gabriella?"

Goyle seemed quiet, but he answered. "Once. He never touched me, but he hurt Gabriella once," he explained. "I threatened him. I told him if he ever hurt her again, I would beat him like he beats mother and turn him in." He finished, sounding sad and furious at the same time.

Draco knew it had only been once because their father must be a coward too. He was almost infuriated for a moment because their father had hurt Gabriella. Then, he remembered Goyle didn't know about Blaise. "Then, you're really not going to like hearing this." Draco stated.

Goyle looked at him with curiosity, fear, and anger mixed into one. "What?" He asked.

"Blaise tried to rape your sister." Draco replied.

Goyle clenched his teeth and formed his hands into fists. "I'm going to find Crabbe." He said, cracking his knuckles like a bully before a fight.

Goyle quickly left the room, and Draco knew what this meant. He knew Goyle would find Crabbe so the two of them could beat up Blaise. Goyle didn't even need an explanation as to why Blaise did it because he was more of the type to react.

Draco continued to sit in the common room for a while as he thought to himself. _I can't believe their father does that. I can't believe he hurt Gabriella too,_ he thought, denying the horrible truth. Eventually he became frustrated with himself. _Ugh! Why do I even care?_ he questioned himself. _I mean, Goyle is my friend, but Gabriella is just awful. Maybe she deserved to get hurt by her father. The way she acts and says things would make it believable then. Ugh! No. No one deserves that._

Draco's head started to hurt as his mind was on overdrive. To make problems worse, his eye was still stinging from Gabriella's fist greeting his eye. He figured it was probably her way of greeting people and thanking them. He chuckled at the thought before making his way to the Great Hall for dinner.

Draco noticed Goyle and Crabbe were already seated at the Slytherin table so he sat next to them. He concluded their business with Blaise had been taken care of and he was correct when he saw Blaise enter the Great Hall. Blaise was sporting two black eyes and he avoided them as he sat at the other end of the Slytherin table. "Nice work." Draco complimented to Goyle and Crabbe.

The two of them smiled evilly while Draco looked around for Gabriella. "Where's Gabby?" He asked.

Goyle looked up and down the Slytherin table. "I don't know, but if I found out that git, Blaise, did anything else to her, he won't even be a footnote in history." He explained, threateningly.

Dinner soon came, but Gabriella was nowhere to be seen. Draco understood why she wouldn't want to come to dinner. After all, she had nearly been raped and Draco, the last person on Earth she had expected to save her, really did. Draco sat there quietly as he finished dinner, realizing he had to help first years since he was a prefect. "I'll see you two back in the common room." He said to Goyle and Crabbe. He stood up from the table, found the first years, and prepared to do his duty.


	5. Chapter 5: The Duties of a Prefect

Draco finally rounded up the Slytherin first years since they were acting like a bunch of kids hyped up on sugar. Draco couldn't remember the last time he had so much energy like these students, but it made him feel bad for his parents since he was once so young and energetic. He nudged the students forward since they seemed to be stalling. "Come on," he demanded. "Some of us have better things to do."

After a few minutes, they were all in the Slytherin common room. The first years went their separate ways as if they were embarrassed to be around an older student. He sat down on the sofa, wondering where Gabriella was. He didn't blame her for hiding after everything which had happened today. In fact, Draco just wanted to relax after all the drama because it was getting late and he didn't want to be stressed before going to bed.

Draco decided he would take a bath in the prefects' bathroom to relieve stress. He quickly ran up the stairs to the boy's dorm and opened his trunk. He found a clean pair of boxers, his bathrobe, and his toothbrush before heading back down the stairs. He left the common room and walked through the portrait hole with his items in hand.

Luckily, the Slytherin prefects' bathroom was down the hall from their common room. It was only a few feet away and only a few footsteps for Draco. He stepped to the door and faced the entrance. "Parselmouth," he said, stating the password he had been given his fifth year when he became a prefect. The door opened so he stepped inside and the door closed by it when he entered. To his dismay, Gabriella was sitting in the huge bathtub which looked more like a really shallow pool.

Now Draco knew exactly where Gabriella had been, although he doubted she had been in the prefects' bathroom all day. He assumed she had come there to relax just like him. He wondered if he should leave considering Gabriella wasn't too happy with him after the events of the day. Also, he knew about her father's abusive tendencies and her mother accepting the abuse.

Draco quietly walked around the bathtub to see if Gabriella noticed he was in there. He figured if he was quiet enough, he could get away with staying. He saw her eyes were closed as she came into view, so he assumed she might have been asleep. He tiptoed to the other side of the bath which put plenty of distance between them. He placed his items he had brought with him on the floor next to the bath so they were in his reach. He quickly stripped his clothes off as he kept an eye on Gabriella the whole time, making sure she wasn't watching.

Draco stepped down the stairs of the bath and he made sure not to splash as he entered the water. Once inside the bath, he leaned against the edge and closed his eyes. Luckily, there were enough bubbles to keep them both covered because it could turn into a bad predicament if there had not been enough bubbles. Draco wanted nothing more then to just relax plus, he was keeping an eye on her even if his eyes were closed. After a few minutes, Draco started to feel sleepy so he opened his eyes and Gabriella was staring at him, only a few inches away.

Draco gasped and looked at her in shock. Obviously, he should have kept his eyes open because now he wondered what she was up to. "What the hell?" he questioned, being somewhat startled.

Gabriella smirked at his reaction. "I bet you enjoyed the show earlier," she suggested, being all snotty.

Draco knew she was referring to Blaise almost raping her. "Oh yes," he said sarcastically. "I just love watching girls getting almost raped. Then again, I bet you would have liked it since you probably screw anything with a penis and you're probably full of STDs," he said, grinning evilly as if he was pleased with his insults.

"You bastard!" shouted Gabriella, glaring at him. She raised her hand to slap him but Draco reacted quickly and grabbed her wrist, pulling her arm back down. She raised her other hand but he did the same to this arm as well.

Draco moved away from the wall, still holding on to Gabriella's wrists and he turned them both. He pushed her against the edge of the bath, but not enough to hurt her, and his grip on her wrists didn't hurt her either. He had no intentions of hurting her after he found out about her father. Gabriella gasped and looked at him slightly scared. "Let me go!" she pleaded, trying to squirm free of his grip.

Draco smirked. "Now why would I want to do that?" he asked, being a smartass. "When I could just try and rape you like Blaise."

Gabriella smirked back at him as if she knew something he didn't. "It's not rape if it is willing," she stated.

Draco looked confused as he released her wrists and took a step back. "Wh--" He tried to ask but was cut off.

Gabriella had pressed her lips against Draco's so he could not finish his question. He became extremely confused but he didn't resist as he closed his eyes and kissed her back. Draco felt how moist her lips were as he forced his tongue into her mouth, not even asking for permission. She didn't refuse which turned him on so he pushed her against the edge of the bath again. His head clouded with confusion as he wrapped his arms around her waist, caressing her back with his hands, and kissing her passionately. Draco didn't understand why he was behaving like this with the one girl he hated. Then, as if he had an epiphany, he realized his hate was nothing more then lust and desire for the one person who challenged him back.

Gabriella wrapped her arms around Draco's neck as she kissed him more fiercely by the second. She brought her legs upward and wrapped them around Draco's waist, using the edge of the bath for support. She used Draco to lift herself slightly, shifting her weight as she slid onto him. Draco abruptly pulled away from their kissing and groaned loudly. Never before had he ever felt something so wet, warm, and tight, as if he were being enclosed. He looked into her eyes as if he was searching for an answer to their sudden intimacy but, her expression was one of warmth which was also blank at the same time.

Draco understood nothing except for every fiber of his being aching for her now. He knew their actions would result in the end of his virginity, but she had started it, and he was going to end it. He removed his arms from her waist and gripped the edge of the bath with his hands. Draco used the bath as leverage as he moved inside of her slightly. He watched Gabriella's bottom lip tremble as she let out a soft moan. Before he knew it, his hips worked in a rhythmical pace as he thrust inside of her over and over again, a little deeper every time until he could go no deeper.

Gabriella put his head in her hands as she kissed him, muffling both of their moans. Draco was beyond confused as pleasure coursed through every part of his body, causing blood to flow between his legs rapidly. This resulted in more confusion, because all he could feel was nothing but pleasure, and Gabriella's fingers running frantically through his hair. He felt as if she was becoming tighter so he had to push inside of her harder. He liked the feeling and he could tell Gabriella's moans were becoming louder, even though both of their moans were being muffled by their kisses. He thrust inside of her a few more times, his hips working harder and faster, as he felt the pleasure starting to slowly leave his body.

Draco arched his back as he released himself but after a few seconds, the pleasure was no more. He rested his head on her chest as his heart pounded away, causing him to breathe heavily, and it made his chest heave up and down. He slowly pulled Gabriella off of him and then moved to the edge of the bath, resting his head backwards. He searched for words to say, but he came up blank, the harder he thought. "What do I say after a situation like this?" he wondered, as he closed his eyes.

Draco didn't even bother looking at her because he was afraid of her reaction. He had just had sex with the one person he thought he hated, so words seemed unfathomable. He wondered what she was thinking but he was too scared to ask. He continued to rest as he thought, "Wow." His breathing started to return to normal as he relaxed and caught his breathe. His thoughts and worries started to drift away as he fell asleep, leaving his unanswered questions for later.


	6. Revelations, Realization, and Relocation

The translucent stained glass window of a snake shimmered different colors of light through the prefects' bathroom. The light danced across Draco's face, causing him to open his eyes and view his surroundings. He rubbed his neck since he now had a kink from his head resting backwards all night. He shivered slightly as the water had become cold overnight since Hogwarts was always a drafty place, even in the summer. Draco looked around for Gabriella as he remembered the events of last night. "Gabby?" He questioned, as he called out to her, seeing if she was present. To his dismay, there was no answer and she was nowhere to be found.

Draco sighed as his mind raced with questions and worries. He knew he had to find Gabriella to ease his troubled mind. He stepped out of the bath, using the stairs provided, and walked over to a lever, which he pulled. The water started to drain out of the bath, making gurgling noises as it did. He walked over to his clean pair of boxers and bathrobe he had brought at night, slipping them on to cover his once naked body. He walked over to the door, opened it, stepped outside, and the door closed behind him.

Draco walked the few steps it took to come back to the Slytherin common room. He uttered the password and the portrait hole opened so he stepped inside. He looked around and noticed only a couple of students were lingering, but by looking at the amount of sunlight entering through the window, he could tell it was still early. He made his way to the stairs of the boys' dorm and stepped up them, finding the room where all the seventh year boys resided. He found his trunk next to his bed, opened it, and removed a clean set of school uniforms. Before closing his trunk, he removed the bathrobe and threw it inside, and then slid on his clean uniform.

Once Draco was dressed, he left the common room and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. His heart raced as he worried about seeing Gabriella, not even knowing if she would be there. After a few minutes, Draco entered the Great Hall and his heart jumped as he saw Gabriella sitting at the Slytherin table. He slowly walked over, sat down next to Goyle, and stared at Gabriella. He watched her as she read a book, not even acknowledging Draco was there. After a few seconds of staring, Goyle waved his hand in front of Draco's face. "Are you okay?" Goyle asked.

Draco quickly snapped back to reality and turned to face Goyle. "Yes. I'm just tired." He replied, making up some excuse, which was actually half true.

Goyle nodded and continued on with the conversation. "Does it have to do with why you weren't in bed last night?" He asked.

Draco glanced at Gabriella for a second and noticed she did not look up from her book as if she could not hear their conversation. Then, he quickly turned back to Goyle as if to not be obvious. "Yes. I fell asleep in the prefects' bathroom by accident." He answered, telling the truth but not giving details.

Just then, Gabriella closed her book and shoved it into her bag before she abruptly left the table. Draco saw this as his chance to talk to her so he turned to Goyle and said, "I'll catch you later."

Goyle nodded. "Alright." He said with a simple reply.

Draco quickly left the table and started jogging to the main corridor outside of the Great Hall just as the owls were about to deliver the daily post. He looked to his left and saw the corridor was empty so he looked right and saw Gabriella. He ran after her and watched as she turned into a side hallway. Draco hurried to the hallway, passing statues and various paintings as he finally arrived. He saw Gabriella leaning against the wall with her bag of books lying on the floor next to her. He walked up to her and looked at her, wondering what she was thinking. "We need to talk." He demanded in a sincere voice, which was unusual for a Malfoy and a Slytherin.

Gabriella rolled her eyes at him. "Obviously. I don't think I would have stopped in the middle of a hallway for nothing." She stated, being snotty about it.

Draco stood in front of her and decided to brush off her rude behavior since his brain needed answers. "Why did you just up and leave me in the bathroom?" He asked, feeling slightly hurt she had just up and left him.

Gabriella did not hesitate with her answer. "If we would have left at the same time or never came back to our dorms during the night, it would have been too suspicious." She explained, obviously contemplating the situation and being smarter than the books she read.

Draco thought about it for a moment. "Good point, but why did we," said Draco pausing and sighing, "I mean why did you let us do that?"

Gabriella smirked. "Oh, did I make Draco all tongue-tied?" she asked, doing the little baby voice. "Come on, Draco. Do you act this way with all the girls after you shag them?" She asked with a slight laugh.

Draco looked at her with shock because she had obviously thought he was sleeping around. "I wouldn't know. This is the first time I've ever had to have a conversation like this." He answered, seeing if she would get the point.

Gabriella's eyes went wide as she understood exactly what he was trying to say. "You mean, you were a virgin?" She asked, seeming shocked.

Draco nodded. "Yes," he answered. "Was I any good compared to the other guys you've shagged?" He asked, feeling embarrassed he was a virgin and showing he needed an ego boost.

Gabriella started giving off an awkward vibe. "I can't compare." She replied, avoiding his answer.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Why not?" He asked, really wanting to know.

Gabriella started to twirl her hair around one of her fingers and avoided his gaze. "I can't compare if there is no one else to compare you to." She answered, telling the truth.

Draco thought for a moment as this statement confused him. "What?" he asked, completely clueless. Then, he realized what she meant. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "So you were a virgin too?"

Gabriella just nodded as she still twirled her hair. "Then why did you let me do that last night?" Draco asked, giving her a curious look.

Gabriella stopped twirling her hair, sighed, and looked at him. "Whenever I was around you, my skin would just crawl and feel like it was on fire. I thought I hated you but I-" She explained, being cut off by Draco's finger shushing her.

Draco removed his finger from her lips and embraced her face in his hands. "I know exactly what you mean." He said, before pressing his lips against hers.

Gabriella put her arms around his neck, running one of her hands through his blond locks as they continued to kiss. After a couple of minutes, Draco pulled away, smiling at Gabriella. Out of the corner of Draco's eye, he saw someone so he turned his head and saw Goyle with a blank look on his face. Gabriella turned, saw her brother, and gasped. "Greg!" She exclaimed, startled by seeing her brother and trying to figure out an explanation.

Draco figured he was screwed now. He had just kissed his best friend's sister in front of him, not to mention shagged her too. Draco tried to come up with an explanation in his head, but he couldn't come up with anything. He just stared at Goyle, waiting for some type of reaction. "I knew it!" Goyle shouted.

Draco and Gabriella both gave Goyle a confused look. "You know what?" Draco asked, wondering if Goyle had lost his sanity from seeing him kiss his sister.

Goyle pointed his finger at them. "I knew it all along! You two had been acting different. Draco with his wanting you to join our group and asking a bunch of questions about you," he explained, looking to Gabriella. "And Gabby actually talking to you and Snape requesting you come home with us." Goyle stated, not making sense.

Draco and Gabriella looked at him even more confused, this time with more of a he's-completely-lost-it look. "Huh?" Draco questioned.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah! What's this about him coming home with us?" She asked, looking for answers.

Goyle sighed and seemed distraught. "Apparently mum was worse then the Healers thought at St. Mungo's. She's in a coma and they don't know if she will wake up." He explained, showing a side of Goyle, which Draco had never seen before.

Draco looked at Gabriella once he heard the news and wrapped an arm around her. She seemed upset, but was obviously holding it back, possibly because she had learned to deal with it throughout the years. "It's alright, Gabby," he said, trying to comfort her. "But what does that have to do with me coming along?"

Goyle held up a note. "This note came once you guys left. It explained about mum, but apparently father wants us home right away. He already talked to Snape and I guess Snape told him he wanted you to come along," answered Goyle, before he moved in closer. "I'm guessing there might be some type of Death Eater thing coming up." He whispered.

Gabriella looked at Goyle with tearful eyes. "How are we getting there?" She asked, knowing they could not apparate on Hogwarts grounds.

Goyle shoved the note inside his robes. "Floo network. We're to go to Snape's office and use it there right away." He explained.

Gabriella nodded. "Alright. Let's go then." She demanded, picking her bag off of the floor.

Draco grabbed the bag from her and carried it for her. She gave him a slight smile and the three of them slowly made their way to the Headmaster's office, currently where Snape resided at Hogwarts. Draco stayed by Gabriella's side while Goyle was in the lead, directing the way. They passed many statues and several pointed arches, which showed the castle's Gothic era, before they finally reached the statue of the phoenix.

"Veritaserum." Draco said, stating the password since he knew it, because Snape was always keeping an eye out for him.

The phoenix statue ascended, revealing the stairs as it did. The three of them walked up the stairs, one after the other, reaching the door after several stairs. Goyle, who was still in the front, knocked on the door and heard Snape say, "Enter."

Goyle opened the door and the three of them stepped inside, seeing the various knickknacks, which had been left behind by Dumbledore. Snape stood up from his desk and walked over to the fireplace, picking up a container of Floo Powder and looking at the three of them. "You are to leave right away." He said, in his usual undertone.

They all stepped up to Snape, waiting in a line as Goyle went first. He grabbed a handful of the powder, stepped inside, and threw the powder down shouting, "Goyle Manor!"

The green flames engulfed him and he disappeared in a flash. Gabriella stepped up, doing the exact same thing, and she also disappeared. Draco was last to go, but he stalled for a moment, as he had a lingering question. "Why am I going with them?" He asked, his curiosity getting to him again.

Snape looked at him with no reaction, which was his usual characteristic. "To keep an eye on her like the Dark Lord requested of you." He replied, with no details.

Draco nodded, feeling uneasy about the whole situation. He worried about how Goyle had seen his sister and him together. He hated the idea of being in the same house with their father, who he thought was an abusive bastard. He grabbed a handful of the powder, shouted his destination, and was engulfed by the green flames, which took him straight to the Goyle Manor, where all things would be revealed in due time.


	7. Chapter 7: A Sadistic Goyle Lives Here

After what seemed like several minutes, which in fact were only a few seconds, Draco arrived at the Goyle Manor. He lost his footing and fell down, expecting to hit the floor, but he landed on top of Gabriella who had landed on top of Goyle. Draco picked himself up, and then offered a hand to Gabriella who took it. Soon, only Goyle was on the floor, but he picked himself up, groaning as he did, because he ended up with the most weight on top of him.

They were all covered in soot so they used their wands and used Scourgify to clean themselves. When he was done cleaning himself, Draco put away his wand and looked around at his new surroundings. His eyes went wide as he saw the vastness of the Goyle Manor. From the inside, it appeared to be bigger then the Malfoy Manor, and he almost didn't want to believe it as they stood there in the living room. The walls appeared to be made of a dark gray marble, with lighter gray swirls throughout it.

Draco thought his home was the best of all, but now he was starting to think otherwise. He envied them as he noticed the dark brown leather sofas and chairs and the various antiques scattered throughout the living room. The place seemed like a palace and it made Draco wonder why he had never been there before. He wondered why his father always pretended to be the best pureblood, but then again, he knew his father actually believed it. "Wow." He said in awe, still looking around at their possessions.

Just then, a female house elf came into the living room. She appeared to be treated fairly decent since her rags didn't look like rags at all. She was still wearing the standard pillowcase-looking outfit, but instead of it being dirty, it was actually as white as snow, like it had been cleaned recently. The elf's eyes seemed to glisten as she saw them, almost as if she was happy to be the house elf for this family. "Master is in the library doing work. He will be present at dinner and has told me to put your belongings in your rooms." The house elf explained, snapping her fingers and causing their possessions to disappear.

Gabriella smiled at the house elf. "Thank you, Besa." She replied, stating the house elf's name.

Besa seemed to gleam with joy as if Gabriella was her favorite. "You are welcome, Mistress." She said, before leaving the room.

The three of them stood there for a moment before Gabriella decided to end the silence. "I think I will go up in my room and change so Greg can show you where you will be sleeping." She explained, looking at Draco.

Draco nodded as Gabriella started walking off towards the stairs, obviously meaning the bedrooms were upstairs. He wasn't sure he wanted to be alone with Goyle after Goyle discovered Gabriella and him were involved. He worried about the conversations they might end up having, but he followed Goyle who was walking towards the stairs, as well. "This way." Goyle gestured.

The two of them slowly ascended up the stairs. Draco traced his hand over the railing of the marble staircase as they ascended. He was actually kind of jealous of their home since it appeared to be nicer then his own. Then again, he did not envy the sadistic man who owned the manor and beat his wife. In a way, it made the place less like a home and more like a broken environment.

After they went up the stairs, the two of them reached the main landing, displaying a hallway also made of marble, with various paintings on the walls and many doors until the end of the hallway where there was a window overlooking the land below. Goyle showed Draco to a room, which was only a couple of doors down the hall. Goyle opened the door and the both of them stepped inside. Draco wanted to drop his jaw at the sight of the room. The room looked like it was fit for the king with the extravagance of it all. The bed had linens, which were dark green with gold trimming, and a canopy was hanging around all the bedposts. The room even had its own furniture, like a small living room, and a fireplace also made of marble. There was also a door, which led to his own private bathroom, like he was staying in a grand hotel.

Draco walked over to the bed and sat down. He looked at the floor and noticed his book bag was lying there, obviously put there by Besa, the house elf. He turned his gaze back to his friend Goyle, who was just kind of standing in the middle of the room. "So where is Gabriella's and your room at?" He asked, being curious.

A smirk came over Goyle's face. "The two rooms across the hall from this one. Just admit you want to know so you can sneak in her room for some quality shagging." He joked.

Draco's stomach lurched as he realized Goyle was probably clueless about Gabriella and him shagging in the prefects' bathroom. "Listen. About your sister and I--"

"Don't worry about it," said Goyle, cutting Draco off in mid sentence. "I would rather her be with you then anyone else."

Draco looked at Goyle curiously. "Why's that?" He asked, feeling kind of shocked Goyle had said such a thing to him to begin with.

"Well, you are my best friend and it's not like I would want her with Crabbe. He's the dumbest one of all of us, and Blaise obviously isn't our friend since he tried to rape her. Other then that, a lot of other Slytherins are just plain full of themselves." He explained in his opinion.

Draco thought Goyle really did have a good point. "Thanks." He said, feeling slightly relieved.

"Ok. Now let's get the hell out of here and see what is going on." Goyle suggested, making his way to the door. Draco stood up from the bed and walked over to Goyle who was now peaking out through the door as if he was watching something.

"What's going on?" Draco whispered, being quiet so whomever he was watching wouldn't hear.

"Gabby just left her room and entered the library where father is at," explained Goyle. "Come on. Let's check it out."

Before Draco could even say anything, Goyle was tiptoeing his way to the library door. Draco followed him, just as quietly, as Goyle opened the door a crack so they could see and hear what was happening. Draco looked through the crack and noticed Gabriella had changed into a pair of black pants and a green tank top. It was simple, but still looked great on her, and he smiled, but the smile was soon to fade. He watched Gabriella approach her father's desk in the library, where thousands of books were on shelves attached to the walls. Mr. Goyle was looking down as he read a book and was writing stuff down at the same time, practically ignoring his daughter. "Besa told you I would be at dinner." Mr. Goyle said, continuing to work and trying to get rid of his daughter.

Gabriella sighed with a look of slight sadness on her face. "I don't care. Why weren't you there to great us when we arrived?" She asked.

"I'm busy." He replied, not looking up from his work.

Gabriella slammed her fist down onto her father's desk. "What you mean is you're busy unless it has to do with beating up mum or something to do with the Dark Lord." She stated, starting to raise her voice, as she was obviously irritated.

Draco watched, and he could not believe Gabriella's behavior. It was as if she was asking for a beating from him. He watched as Mr. Goyle stopped working and looked up at his daughter. "It has more to do with not wanting to greet Draco who couldn't even kill Dumbledore for the Dark Lord." He explained.

A sneer of disgust came across Draco's face. He did not want to hear their father judging him; the same man who beat his own wife and hurt his daughter once. He had met the man in Diagon Alley a few times and had never expected him to be so terrible. He never knew their father abused his own wife until recently. Draco wanted to barge in there but he knew he couldn't, because then they would know Goyle and him were listening. Instead, he continued to listen and watch as fury and hate raced through his body.

Gabriella glared at her father. "So what! Who are you to judge who lives and dies? It's not our job to play God!" She shouted, angrily.

Draco's heart raced as he became scared for Gabriella. He wondered if she would receive a beating from this man and he knew he would have to step in to save her if she did. Mr. Goyle's expression remained the same. "Lord Voldemort is God and we do what he demands us to do." He replied in response to Gabriella.

Gabriella became even more furious. "Did he demand you to abuse mother all those times?! Did he ask you to throw me onto that glass table so a shard of glass could get stuck in my shoulder and leave me with a scar!?!" She asked, slipping down the side of her tank top off of her right shoulder and turning around to show off a scar which looked about four inches long.

Draco loathed Mr. Goyle now. He never imagined just how bad Mr. Goyle had hurt Gabriella. Draco watched, as Mr. Goyle did not seem phased by his daughter's behavior. He looked as if he never discovered the purpose of loving anyone. "It was for your own good." He replied, cruelly.

Gabriella seemed to collect herself and calm down, even after her father's rude comment. "I'm glad you scarred me because it will remind me how much I hate you, and if you ever touch mother, Goyle, or myself ever again, I will turn you in." She threatened, displaying how much she truly hated her father.

Mr. Goyle seemed slightly surprised. "You would turn your back on your own flesh and blood and betray the Dark Lord?" He questioned, as if he was frightened by the thought.

"Yes. Just because we share common DNA, it doesn't make us family. It takes a lot more then blood to make someone family, and as for the Dark Lord, he can go ahead and kill me if he wants. There are worse things in life then dying." She replied, absolutely sure of herself.

Mr. Goyle was about to respond, but Besa, the house elf, apparated into the library. "Dinner is ready." She informed them.

Draco and Goyle knew this was the time to leave so they quietly walked away from the door. When they were halfway down the hallway, they started running and even ran down the stairs. They wanted to make sure Gabriella and her father did not see them. They reached the Dining Room table and sat down a few minutes before Gabriella and Mr. Goyle arrived. Those two sat down as well, as if they never even had a conversation.

Once everyone was seated, Besa came in and served them their dinner. They had chicken, rice, and vegetables, but it looked gourmet, like a meal someone would be served in a five star restaurant. "Thank you." Gabriella said to Besa. The house elf smiled at her before leaving them so they could eat.

The four of them began to eat and dinner was silent almost the whole time. Mr. Goyle acted as if he did not acknowledge Draco was even there. When Draco was finally done with his dinner, he pushed his plate aside and decided to ask a question, which had been bugging him. "So why did Snape insist I come here?" He asked, looking at Mr. Goyle for the answer.

Mr. Goyle took one last bite of his food and looked at Draco. "There is a meeting tomorrow at your home. He figured it was easier to have all of you come here instead of you all leaving at different times." He explained.

Draco nodded, but he knew Snape had arranged this so he could keep an eye on Gabriella. He felt his stomach churn a bit as he became worried about the meeting tomorrow. Voldemort was still not happy with Draco after he never succeeded with his task to kill Dumbledore. On top of that, his parents had offered their manor as the meeting place, and it had left his mother and father less like themselves. He hated seeing his parents as diminished people, but in a way, he felt like he was starting to become like them also.

After dinner, the four of them decided it was time for bed since there would be the meeting tomorrow. They told each other good night and went off to their own rooms. Once Draco was inside his room, he slid off his clothes and decided to sleep in his boxers. He climbed into bed and laid on his back, staring at the top of the bed. He worried about the meeting and it caused him to be unable to sleep. He laid there thinking about things: Gabriella, his parents, and life in general until he heard his door creak open.

A shadow crept over the room as someone had obviously come in. They were unable to be seen since it was so dark. Draco's heart raced slightly as he worried it could be Mr. Goyle coming to finish him off as the person approached closer. "It's me." A girly voice said.

Draco sat up in bed, realizing who it must be. "Gabby?" He questioned.

"Yes," she replied, sitting on the edge of his bed in her nightgown. "I'm sorry but my Dark Mark won't stop itching and burning." She apologized, scratching her arm where the mark was.

Draco took her arm and rubbed his palm over it. He gently kissed her arm before pulling back the covers. "It's alright. Get in." He said.

Gabriella climbed in the bed with him, gently resting her head on his chest as Draco laid back down. He stroked her hair, and then put his arm around her, his hand resting on her shoulder. "It can mean he is nearby. Our houses are not really all that far from each other so it wouldn't surprise me any." He explained, realizing his Dark Mark was doing the same, but he had become used to it a while ago.

"Alright." She replied, closing her eyes.

Draco gently rubbed her shoulder as he felt himself drifting off to sleep. The two of them slept there soundly for a while until the bedroom door burst open. They both jolted up in bed as the noise startled them awake. Their eyes went wide as Mr. Goyle had burst into the room. He stormed over to Gabriella and grabbed her by the arm tightly. "You're hurting me!" She shouted, as her father started dragging her out of the bed.

Mr. Goyle's grip became tighter as he pulled her towards the bathroom in Draco's room. She tried to pull away from his grasp, but it was no use. He opened the door to the shower, turned on the water, making it cold, and threw her inside. "You filthy slut!" He shouted, as Gabriella hit the wall of the shower really hard, causing her to collapse on the floor of the shower, still conscious.

Everything happened so quickly; it caused Draco to become confused. He could hear Gabriella's cries from the bathroom so he grabbed his wand and apparated himself in front of Mr. Goyle in the bathroom. With a quick popping sound, he was standing before the abusive man. Before Mr. Goyle could react, Draco pointed his wand at him. "Stupefy!" He shouted, sending Mr. Goyle flying towards the wall.

Some of the tiling broke as Mr. Goyle hit the wall. He fell to the floor and was unconscious. Draco went over to Gabriella who was crying and soaking wet from the water now. He helped her up and the two of them started leaving his room to get away from her father, but not before taking Mr. Goyle's wand. He put his arm around her waist as he guided Gabriella towards her room, closing and locking the door behind them. "Come on. Pack some of your things and then we are leaving." He explained.

Gabriella found a bag and started rummaging through her dresser, stuffing clothes into the bag. "Where are we going?" She asked.

"Malfoy Manor. There are too many people there for your father to try anything and with the meeting he wouldn't dare." Draco explained.

Just then, Goyle apparated inside of Gabriella's room with his pajamas still on. Draco raised his wand as a reflex, but knew it couldn't be their father since he had taken their father's wand. "What the hell is going on!?" Goyle asked, looking at them both.

Draco explained to him what happened and where he was going to take Gabriella, but as he finished, there was pounding on the door. "Go! Get out of here! I'll hold him off." Goyle said, as the pounding became louder.

Gabriella started to run towards her brother, but Draco held her back. "NO!" she shouted. "Don't do this, Greg!"

Goyle smiled at his sister with his wand ready. "It's alright. I'll meet up with you." He said, trying to comfort his sister.

"You better," said Draco, throwing Goyle his father's wand and Goyle caught it. "Two wands are better then one." Draco explained.

Goyle nodded at him and Draco put his arm around Gabriella's waist tightly because she was still trying to get free. She cried, not wanting to leave her brother behind, but Draco used side-by-side apparation just as Mr. Goyle managed to bust down the door. The two of them went away from Goyle Manor, causing them to swirl with the usual sickening feeling, before arriving at the Malfoy Manor, leaving father and son to duel.


	8. Chapter 8: One Goyle Down, Two to Go

The sky filled with pink and orange as the sun began to rise. It was dawn and dull light started to come through the windows of the Malfoy Manor. A loud popping sound filled the air as Draco and Gabriella arrived at the manor. "We have to go back!" Gabriella shouted, as she cried because her brother stayed behind.

Draco put both of his hands on her shoulders. "We can't. Goyle can handle himself and he wanted to keep you safe." He explained, trying to comfort her.

Gabriella wanted to argue with him as both of them stood there in their pajamas from their rapid departure. However, she couldn't argue because Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange burst into the room with their wands raised. Narcissa's expression softened when she noticed her son. She lowered her wand and walked over to him, embracing him in a hug.

Lucius looked shocked to see his son earlier than the time of the meeting. However, he also lowered his wand and approached his son and wife as if they didn't notice Gabriella. On the other hand, Bellatrix seemed reluctant as she kept her wand raised, ready to duel. "What are you doing here so early? The meeting isn't for another few hours." She stated in her usual evil witch-sounding voice.

Narcissa pulled away from her son to look at him questioningly. Lucius gave him the same look as they waited for an answer. "We had to escape." Draco replied.

"Escape?" questioned Bellatrix. "How do we know that you aren't just Potter and one of his friends in disguise?"

"Well for starters, I don't think Potter and his friends would show up here in their pajamas." He explained.

The three adults looked at the two of them with wide eyes. "And why are the two of you in your pajamas?" Narcissa asked, looking back and forth from her son to Gabriella.

Draco sighed, as he knew what his mother was implying by her looks. "We were sleeping when we had to escape. Just let us get changed and I will explain everything." He answered.

Narcissa gave Gabriella a sweet look this time. "Well, I'll show you to a room so you can change," she offered before turning to her son. "Draco, you can change in your room and then explain to us what happened."

Draco nodded and everyone started going his or her separate ways when another popping sound echoed in the manor. Bellatrix raised her wand again as she was already prepared. However, there was no need to duel as Gregory Goyle made the popping sound. He stumbled into a chair as if he was going to fall over. He sported a black eye and a couple of cuts on his face.

Gabriella ran over to him and gave him a hug. "Ow!" Goyle shouted, obviously receiving pain from the hug.

"Sorry!" exclaimed Gabriella. "What happened?"

The adults looked at them all confused. "You put us all at risk by apparating here from whoever you're trying to escape from!" Bellatrix shouted.

"Not when the person is a Death Eater like us." Draco explained.

The adults looked at him wide-eyed. "You have a lot of explaining to do son, and we want answers now." Lucius demanded as if he were becoming impatient.

Draco sighed. "I promise to explain everything once we've gotten out of our pajamas. Plus, Goyle looks like he needs attention." He said, trying to avoid conflict.

"Fine. You have five minutes to change and you will explain everything to me, as well as your mother and Bellatrix in the library. Gabriella can take care of her brother, and once you are done explaining, we will talk to Goyle. Am I understood?" Lucius questioned, giving orders as if he still ran the household even though it was under Voldemort's control.

Draco nodded. "Yes father." He replied, before running off to his room. He quickly opened the door, walked inside, and closed the door. The room had remained the same since the last time he had come home, regardless of the Manor being the meeting place for Death Eaters. The room wasn't as fancy as those at the Goyle Manor, but it did him justice. The linens on the bed were done in green to represent his Hogwarts house of Slytherin. There were even a few Slytherin banners hanging on the wall from previous Quidditch games. For the better part of it, he enjoyed his room, and he missed the days when he could stay at home and people were not looking over his shoulder.

Draco rummaged through his dresser as he found a pair of black pants and a black t-shirt to wear. He wasn't too worried about looking good since he only had five minutes. He quickly put on the newfound clothes before running off to the library to meet the grownups.

In the meantime, Narcissa had showed Gabriella and her brother to a room. The room had linens, which looked like it had been made for royalty. Obviously it was the guest room, but apparently, it had not been used in some time due to the amount of dust. The infestation of Death Eaters probably made it impossible for someone to visit.

Narcissa pointed to the bathroom attached to the room as Gabriella set her brother down in a lounge chair made of green leather. "There are some bandages and things in there if you need them," she explained. "We will be in the library if you need help."

Narcissa left the room before Gabriella looked at her brother. "You should have never stayed to fight him." She said, looking concerned.

"Well I wasn't going to let my sister get put into a coma too." Goyle replied, as if he felt guilty about his mother being in a coma.

Gabriella sighed. "I know," she replied, pulling out her wand. She pointed the wand at the cuts on her brother's face. Goyle didn't even flinch so he obviously trusted her as she said, "Episkey," and each one of his cuts healed. "I can't do much for the black eye since it's not really a cut and the bleeding is under the skin." She explained.

Goyle nodded. "It's fine. It was worth it." He said, looking at his sister.

Gabriella smiled. "Well, are you going to tell me what happened?" She asked, curiously.

Goyle shook his head. "There is no point. You'll find out in a while when they come to ask me what happened." He explained.

"Alright. I just wish I knew what Draco was telling them." She said, with a curious mind.

Goyle smirked. "Then go change and listen in on them." He suggested.

Gabriella smirked back, before grabbing her bag of clothes she had managed to pack, and going into the bathroom. She quickly changed into a pair of blue jeans and green t-shirt with a sparkly four-leaf clover on it. She came out of the bathroom and threw her bag on the floor in the room. She looked at her brother one last time before heading to the door.

"Don't get caught." Her brother warned.

Gabriella turned around and smirked at him before leaving the room. The location of the library became clear when she witnessed Draco entering a room. She had stayed still when she noticed him, but he never even noticed her. She quietly tiptoed over to the doorway of the library and peaked inside, as the door had not been shut all the way.

Gabriella watched and listened as Draco sat down in a chair in front of a desk where his father was seated. Bellatrix and Narcissa were standing on either side of the desk, looking at Draco for answers. "You have explaining to do," stated Lucius, irritated. "You claimed you were escaping from a Death Eater. That's a big accusation to place on one of our own."

Draco looked his father straight in the eyes. "Well, let me ask you this. Did you know Mr. Goyle abuses his family?" He asked, wondering if his father was cruel enough to hide such knowledge.

"What?" Lucius asked, as his eyes went slightly wide.

"He abuses his family. He beats his own wife, which is why she is in St. Mungo's in a coma right now. He's even hurt Gabby before." Draco explained, with a slight sound of disgust in his voice towards Mr. Goyle.

"Those are pretty strong allegations without any type of proof." Lucius stated, as if he could not accept the truth behind it.

"I've seen the letters from St. Mungo's with my own two eyes. I've seen the scar on Gabby's shoulder because her own father threw her onto a glass table and Goyle arriving all beat up is his father's doing as well." Draco explained, making his father believe.

Narcissa looked as if she could cry while Bellatrix didn't seem phased at all. "So you were escaping from Mr. Goyle then? Why though?" Lucius asked, wanting answers.

Draco sighed, as he knew this explanation would not sound good. "We were sleeping in the same bed," he mentioned. Narcissa's eyes shot to her son and Draco looked at her as he noticed. "But nothing happened," he explained. "She came in complaining about her Dark Mark burning and itching."

The three adults looked at him with wide eyes. "Her Dark Mark?" Bellatrix questioned.

Draco nodded. "Yes. I've seen it. Snape told me to keep an eye on her because the Dark Lord wanted me too. Supposedly he has special plans for her."

The adults seemed shocked, but Gabriella felt the most shocked of all. She never knew Draco had been told to watch her, but now she knew the truth, and it made her question a lot of things. Then again, she never knew the Dark Lord had special plans for her either.

"Fine. She's one of us. Why were you at the Goyle Manor though?" Narcissa asked as if she didn't care Gabriella could claim the title of Death Eater.

"Snape set it up. He explained it would be easier to just go to the Goyle Manor with them instead of a bunch of students leaving at the different times and causing a big scene," Draco explained.

Lucius nodded. "Very well. Now that some things are cleared up, we will talk to Goyle." He stated, before standing up.

At this point, Gabriella ran back to the room she came from. Goyle was still sitting in the chair. It looked as if he had never moved. "They're coming." Gabriella mentioned, before sitting down on the bed to look as if she never left the room.

Within a couple of minutes, Draco, Lucius, Bellatrix, and Narcissa entered the room. "We would like to know what happened, Goyle." Lucius explained.

Goyle shrugged. "Not much really. After Draco and Gabby left, my father woke up, punched me, and got his wand back. He flew a few spells at me, but I managed to apparate here." He explained, truthfully without the details.

Lucius wanted to ask for more details, but their Dark Mark's started tingling. They all slightly glanced at their Dark Marks before looking back up at each other. This meant the meeting would be in a few minutes. "Let's head to the living room." Lucius said, mentioning the meeting place.

They all walked to the living room as various Death Eaters started to appear for the meeting. The familiar ones like MacNair, both the Crabbes, and even Mr. Goyle deemed to show his face. Mr. Goyle stood there and glanced at everyone for a moment. His face seemed to be unscathed even after he attacked his own family. Gabriella and Goyle remained calm because they knew their father would never try anything with all these other people around.

Within a few minutes, Voldemort apparated into the room. Everyone bowed his or her heads at the sight of him. He was wearing a dark cloak and he removed the hood to reveal his white skin and balding head. He looked like a monster and his actions throughout the years gave the title justice. "Ah, yes. I'm glad to see my friends have gathered at my request. I have summoned you all here for one purpose. To see the death of a fellow colleague." He explained, pulling out his wand.

Everyone in the room looked at each other, wondering who would be biting the dust. Voldemort looked at his fellow Death Eaters before turning to Gabriella. "Please step forward Gabriella." He requested, holding out his arm for her to come forward.

Gabriella slowly stepped towards him. Her heart raced, but so did Draco's as he watched with wide eyes. He feared for the worst and he could do nothing. He could not shout out because his leash was already tight with the Dark Lord for not killing Dumbledore.

Voldemort placed his hand on Gabriella's back, and then they faced her father. Voldemort glanced at Gabriella reassuringly before looking at Mr. Goyle. "You have been a very bad man Goyle. You beat your wife and put her into a coma. You even hurt your own children." He mentioned for all to hear.

Mr. Goyle's eyes went wide with shock, as Voldemort knew his true nature. Voldemort sneered slightly. "Ah, yes. I know your secrets Goyle, and now you will die by one of your own children." He explained, making it sound more like a fact.

Voldemort looked at Gabriella. "Kill him. Punish him for putting your mother in a coma and for hurting you and your brother." He demanded.

Gabriella looked confused. She raised her wand and pointed it at her father, her eyes showing how much she feared this situation. She hated her father for everything he ever put them through, but he still helped create her. Plus, she would be taking away a life, and she never thought about being ready to take away one's life.

"Don't do it!" shouted Draco. "If you do it, you'll turn out just like your father!"

Voldemort turned around and pointed his wand at Draco. "Crucio!" He shouted, letting the feeling of knives run through Draco's body.

Draco fell to the floor and withered slightly. He didn't cry out in pain, but Gabriella glanced at him for a moment, closing her eyes at the sight. She turned back around and pointed her wand back at her father. Voldemort let Draco free of the Unforgivable Curse and faced Mr. Goyle.

Mr. Goyle stood there in fear for what seemed like the first time in his life. He looked at his daughter with pleading eyes. "I'm sorry father." Gabby apologized with a blank look on her face.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The flash of green hit Mr. Goyle in the chest and he fell to the ground. His body laid still as his corpse now laid there lifeless. Everyone turned around to see which wand the spell had come from. Gabriella never said those two words, but instead, they came from her brother. Everyone looked at him, but Gabriella looked at him in shock. She noticed anger and hate on his face, as his wand remained raised.

Voldemort smirked. "Well, it's not what I expected, but it will do," he said, still pleased with the outcome. "Now, everyone leave the room except for Gabriella. I must give her a special mission and I want that body taken care of right away." He demanded.

The Death Eaters started to leave the room one by one. Narcissa helped her son off of the floor while Lucius, Bellatrix, and Goyle left the living room to go elsewhere inside the huge manor. MacNair and the Crabbes took Mr. Goyle's corpse as their responsibility by apparating themselves away with the body. Once the room emptied out and Voldemort and Gabriella only remained, Voldemort faced her. "I have a mission for you." He stated.

After a couple of minutes, Gabriella knew her mission and Voldemort left the manor. She went back to the room from earlier, where Draco and Goyle had been waiting for her. She avoided eye contact with the both of them and sat down on the bed where Goyle already sat. Draco sat in a leather lounge chair not too far away from the bed. Gabriella looked at the floor while she spoke. "Why did you do that?" She asked, referring the question to her brother.

"I couldn't let you go through that." He explained.

Gabriella looked up at her brother now. "It shouldn't be your burden either." She said, feeling like she could cry.

"It was my choice. Better me then you," he stated, before standing up. "Now, I better go. Draco's mum is going to set me up in a room."

Gabriella nodded and looked at the floor again. Goyle left the room and Draco stood up and walked over to the bed, sitting down next to her. "You know he did it because he loves you." Draco said, stating the obvious.

Gabriella looked up at Draco with a couple of tears running down her cheek. "I know, but don't you see? In a way, I've lost him too, and now I have no one." She explained, a few more tears falling from her eyes.

Draco moved his hand to her back and gently rubbed it, trying to comfort her. "You have me." He said, giving her a weak smile.

Gabriella sighed. "The only reason I have you is because you were forced to like me by following me around under Voldemort's orders." She explained, telling her feelings on the situation and revealing she knew Draco's task.

Draco seemed taken aback and he removed his hand from her back. "So you listened in on the conversation earlier?" He asked, looking down at the ground and then sighing.

Gabriella nodded. "Yes."

Draco looked her in the eyes and brushed aside some of the hair in her face with his hand. Then, he took Gabriella's hand in his own. "Listen. I was told to keep an eye on you, but I never expected to actually end up liking you, and I do. I'm sure you know I wouldn't be sitting here in this room with you if I didn't." He explained, revealing his true feelings.

Gabriella looked at him with a weak smile on her face. "Alright."

The rest of the day at the Malfoy Manor seemed quiet. Everyone ate dinner in silence and no one talked about the events of earlier, mainly the death of Mr. Goyle. Gabriella seemed distant from her brother because she felt like she had lost him for giving into evil, regardless of the situation. At bedtime, they all slept in separate rooms, thinking and dreaming of different things, but in the morning, Draco, Gabriella, and Goyle would be returning to Hogwarts once more.


	9. Chapter 9: Life in Someone Else's Hands

The sun started to shine through the windows of the Malfoy Manor. The fanciful curtains with green trim, barely kept the sunlight out anymore. Draco stirred in bed as the sunlight tried to dance across his face. He finally opened his eyes, figuring he shouldn't avoid the waking sun any longer. He sat up in be, stretching his arms as if reaching for the stars. He lifted the covers off himself before stepping out of bed and walking to his bathroom to shower.

After a few minutes of showering, Draco came out squeaky clean. He walked over to his dresser, pulled out a pair of black pants and a black t-shirt, and slid them on. He decided to find Gabriella so he left his room and walked to one of the guest rooms. He found her guest room, but when he opened the door, Gabriella could not be seen. There could only be one other place where she would be.

Gabriella had dressed early that morning and woke her brother so she could talk to him. Now, Gabriella and Goyle sat quietly on the bed of his guest room talking.

"You should have never killed father." Gabriella said, looking down at the floor with regret.

"It had to be either you or me and I couldn't let you do it." Goyle explained.

"But it wasn't your job!" She yelled at him.

"I know, but you can't live with that on your conscious." Goyle said, looking at her.

"But it's okay if you do?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, because I was far more corrupted before you were. You stalled when it came to killing father, which shows you aren't too far gone." He explained as if he had given it a lot of thought.

"We'll see how far gone I truly am soon enough." She mentioned.

Goyle furrowed his forehead in confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?" He asked.

Gabriella looked back down towards the ground. "It has to do with the task." She answered.

"Well, what is it?" He asked, stupidly.

Gabriella slapped him on the shoulder and gave him a half-laugh. "You know I can't tell you." She responded.

Just then, a knock came from the door and Draco entered the room. "I was looking for you." Draco mentioned, looking at Gabriella.

She seemed slightly coy towards him. "I needed to talk to my brother." She stated.

Draco nodded. "I get that after what happened yesterday." He said, glancing at Goyle for a second.

"Well, my father deserved to die." Gabriella explained.

Draco and Goyle glanced at her because of her sudden change in behavior. "You don't mean that," said Draco. "Yes, I know he was an evil man who did terrible things, but he was still your father. A bad father, but you share his blood." Draco explained.

"If you want to give a speech, then give it to Greg. He's the one who actually killed father." She said rudely, acting kind of hostile.

Draco looked as if he were hurt by her words. "I know, but you didn't have it in you, which is a good thing." He explained, trying to bring light to the situation.

Gabriella glared at him. "You obviously don't know me then, because I'm evil and I would have killed him if Greg didn't step in." She explained, acting more hostile by the moment.

Draco felt confused by her sudden change in behavior. Goyle also glanced at her for a moment since the conversation he had with Gabriella went way differently. One minute she hated what happened, and the next she acted fine about it. Draco looked to Goyle for answers, but Goyle just shrugged as if he didn't know. "Gabby. Can I talk to you alone?" Draco asked, trying to come up with a diversion to get her alone.

"If you have something to say to me, it can be said in front of Greg." Gabriella replied, glaring at Draco more.

Draco looked defeated. "Never mind. We should probably get ready to leave soon." He said before quietly leaving the room.

Goyle looked at his sister with confusion after Draco left. "Why were you so rude to him?" He asked, feeling the hostility when it was in the room.

"Never mind." Gabriella demanded.

"Does it have something to do with the task? Tell me." He asked, demanding to know.

Gabriella sighed and looked at him with serious eyes. "Let's just say, you always hurt the ones you love." She explained, cryptically.

Goyle's eyes went wide. "You love Draco?" He questioned.

She sighed again. "We'll soon find out." She said.

After awhile, they gathered their belongings and met at the fireplace of the Malfoy Manor. Narcissa Malfoy waited for them, holding a container of Floo Powder. She gave her son a hug with one arm since the Floor Powder kept her other arm preoccupied. "Be careful." She warned, looking at all of them for a second before extending out her arms with the powder.

Goyle grabbed some of the powder first. The tiny grains of the powder crept out of his fingers as he stepped into the fireplace. "Hogwarts!" He shouted, throwing down the powder. He disappeared in a blaze of green flames. The next two followed closely behind, arriving at the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.

Snape had been waiting at his desk and he looked at them upon their arrival. "I see you all have finally returned. Now, get to class," he ordered them. "Except for Draco."

Gabriella and Goyle quickly left the Headmaster's office, descending down the stairs connected to the phoenix statue. Draco stayed behind, his heart beating faster than normal, as he feared having another task to perform. Then again, he figured it unlikely since he told Gabriella to not kill her father during the Death Eater meeting.

Snape looked at Draco with his usual emotionless eyes. "Stay away from Gabriella," he demanded. "Understood?" He questioned, slightly raising one of his dark eyebrows.

Draco felt shocked and confused. "But you told me to keep an eye on her." He said, complaining slightly.

"Times change," replied Snape. "I promised your father I would look out for your best interest."

"_Best interest?"_ Draco thought, as he nodded, figuring it in his best interest to not argue with Snape.

"You may leave now." Snape stated, looking down at his desk and doing paperwork.

Draco quietly left Snape's office, which had not been earned, but given to him by Voldemort's command. Draco walked slowly to the Slytherin common room near the dungeons. After a few minutes, he came face-to-face with the portrait hole so he uttered the password. The portrait hole opened so he stepped inside to see Goyle on their usual sofa, talking to Crabbe. They both looked at Draco as he entered, seeing him look slightly stressed.

"Hey." Crabbe said.

"Hey." Draco replied, returning the greeting, but he didn't sound enthused. He sat between the two as usual, representing his leadership and showing how Goyle and Crabbe were his lackeys. "That was some pretty crazy stuff yesterday back at your manor." Crabbe mentioned.

Draco nodded, realizing Crabbe had been at the meeting.

"I was just asking Crabbe what he did with my father's body." Goyle mentioned.

"What did you do?" Draco asked, wanting to know for Gabriella's sake.

"Put his body in his bed at home. Made it look like he died in his sleep." Crabbe replied.

"But we weren't here at Hogwarts at the time. Someone might realize this." Draco said, realizing a possible fault in their plan.

Goyle cut in at this point. "Snape never told anyone we left, and I bet they won't care when they find his body because of all the deaths and missing people," he explained. "That is if they even discover the body."

Draco nodded, still feeling stressed about recent events.

Crabbe smiled. "He will start to make the house stink then." He joked, before laughing.

Goyle laughed too, as if he didn't have any emotions towards his father. Draco rolled his eyes as he became reminded why these two were his lackeys. At this same moment, he noticed Gabriella coming down the stairs from the girls' dormitory with a backpack on her shoulder. Draco stood up from the sofa and walked to the foot of the stairs, meeting Gabriella as she reached the bottom. "Can I talk to you?" He asked, looking at her.

Gabriella glared at him. "I'm busy. I need to get to Potions." She said, rudely.

Draco sighed, becoming sick and tired of her attitude. "What has gotten into you?" He asked, wanting to know the reason for her behavior.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't have time for this." She said, moving past him and quickly leaving the common room.

Draco sighed again and walked over to the sofa, opposite Goyle and Crabbe. He plopped down, stretching his legs out and looking at Goyle. "What's up with Gabby?" He asked, hoping her brother would have the answer.

Goyle turned to Draco. "I think it has to do with her task," he replied. "But don't worry. She loves you."

Draco's eyes went wide for a moment. "Well, she has a funny way of showing it." He said, lying down on the sofa.

***

Before he knew it, Draco had dazed off, but he quickly opened his eyes. He woke up due to the excessive noise in the common room. He sat up and looked around to see many students talking and preparing for dinner. Draco turned his gaze to the window and sure enough, it had become dark. He looked around for Goyle and Crabbe, but he didn't see them so he stood up from the sofa before heading to the Great Hall.

Upon arrival, he walked over to the Slytherin table, noticing Gabriella sitting between Crabbe and Goyle. He sighed as he decided to sit across from them. They didn't even notice him as he sat down, which didn't surprise Draco since Pansy occupied Goyle's attention. He watched as Pansy whispered something in Goyle's ear and placed her hand on his leg. Draco smirked, remembering how Pansy acted like a slut when he dated her, but his smirk disappeared when he turned his gaze to Gabriella.

Draco watched as Gabriella did the same thing to Crabbe as Pansy had done to Goyle. He kicked Crabbe in the leg from underneath the table. Crabbe winced slightly and rubbed his leg under the table as he turned his gaze to Draco. He met Draco's narrowed eyes with his own, witnessing Draco's glare and anger. Crabbe knew what this meant so he slid away from Gabriella slightly.

Gabriella glared at Draco, obviously aware of his behavior towards Crabbe. They all ate dinner quietly after this and Gabriella left the table before he did. Draco left the table once he finished, which appeared to be the same time as many others.

Students started heading back to their common rooms while other students went for late night walks. Draco went back to his common room also. He noticed Gabriella, Goyle, Crabbe, and Pansy was all sitting around. Draco stormed over to Gabriella, grabbed her by the front of her school robes, and dragged her over to the wall, shoving her against it. He decided to take his old approach on things to get through to her.

Gabriella looked at him with slight shock, but mainly she glared at him. She wasn't exactly pinned against the wall by him. In fact, he gave her space so she pulled out her wand and pointed it at his throat.

Draco ignored her wand. "Now, are you going to tell me what has gotten into you?" He asked, getting in her face.

"No!" She exclaimed as people started to stare.

Draco grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her against the wall, holding her there this time, but allowing her wand to still be pointed at his throat. "Now," he said, acting as an interrogator. "Why do you insist on being rude to me and ignoring me?"

Gabriella stared into his eyes as Goyle finally came over. "Draco, calm down." He demanded.

"No. Not until she tells me why she's been acting this way." Draco replied, not removing his eyes from Gabriella.

"I'm sure it's just the task." Goyle suggested, coming up with an excuse.

"Then, I want to know what this task is." He demanded, still looking at her.

"He told me to kill you." Gabriella revealed.

Draco's eyes went wide, but then he sneered and grabbed her wrist with the wand pointed at his neck. "Then do it! You know he will punish you if you don't!" He shouted, trying to provoke her.

A couple of tears fell from Gabriella's eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "No!" She exclaimed.

"Come on! Do it! Kill me!" He shouted, egging her on and forcing her to press her wand against his throat more.

More tears fell from her eyes. "I-I can't do it." She said, stuttering.

"Come on! Why can't you do it!?" He provoked, pushing the wand a little harder.

Gabriella cried uncontrollably at this point. "I love you." She replied quietly.

Draco let her go and her wand arm dropped. Just as quick as he let her go, he put his arms around her, letting her cry into his chest. He stroked her brown hair gently with one hand to comfort her. He looked around as he held her and noticed all the students staring at them.

Draco sneered at them all. "Piss off." He demanded.

Many students started heading off to bed, going to different parts of the common room, or just leaving. He slowly guided Gabriella over to the sofa once he released her from his embrace. They both sat down and Draco took her hand, holding it in his own. "Look at me." He demanded.

Gabriella met his gaze with slightly red eyes. Draco brushed some of her hair from her face, and then brushed her cheek gently with his thumb. "I love you too." He said, looking into her eyes.

"I'm so sorry." Gabriella apologized.

"Shhh. It's alright. Everything will be okay. I won't let anything happen to you." He explained.

Then, Draco leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips. He pulled away after a few seconds and held her close, rubbing her back as he did. They sat there in silence for a while until it became bedtime, but now everything would be fine between the two of them.


	10. Chapter 10: Why We Fight

_**The world had become different within only a few months, more dark and evil. The world belonged to different people now, and these people didn't worship rainbows and fluffy kittens. They worshipped Voldemort and hoped for a world of true evil. Soon, everything would come crashing down. Lovers would be ripped apart and whole families destroyed, as the world would become scarred by one man's desire for evil.**_

_*******_

_**Gabriella Goyle sat quietly in the Slytherin common room. Her life had been almost stress free, even with her uncompleted task. Voldemort had become too obsessed with finding a way to kill Potter to worry about her and punish her. She never killed Draco and the two stayed together despite everything wrong in the world. However, times were great for Gabriella and today it would become better and then crash down.**_

_**A little tawny owl tapped on the window with its beak. The owl held a letter in its talon as it waited patiently. Gabriella sat up from the sofa and walked to the window. She pushed the transparent window open with her hand and snatched the letter from the owl. She stroked the owl's soft, feathery, head to show her appreciation.**_

_**Gabriella glanced at the letter and noticed the seal of St. Mungo's. Her heart raced slightly as she feared for the worst. Her mother had remained in the coma for months with no response so she feared her mother had died. Her fingers traced over the seal before she slowly opened it, fear still waging on inside of her. She read the letter and her heart fluttered, causing her to sprint off towards the boys' dormitory.**_

_**Gabriella ran up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. She ascended to the highest landing as she reached the door to the seventh year boys. She pushed the door open to find Draco, Crabbe, Blaise, and her brother still sleeping since she had woken up early. She ran over to Goyle's bed, grabbed him by the shoulders, and shook him like a salt and peppershaker. "Goyle! Wake up!" She shouted as she continued to shake him.**_

_**Goyle woke up with a start as well as Draco, while Crabbe and Blaise put their pillows over their head. "What? What are you doing up here?" Her brother asked.**_

_**Gabriella shoved the letter in Goyle's hands and he skimmed it quickly. "Mom's out of the coma!" Gabriella exclaimed with excitement on her face.**_

_**Goyle looked up at his sister. "That's great. Can I go back to sleep now?" He asked, sounding partly sarcastic as he handed the letter back to her.**_

_**Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Yes." She answered before walking to the door.**_

"_**It really is great." Draco said.**_

_**Gabriella turned and smiled at him before she left the room, allowing all the boys to sleep again. She descended down the stairs back to the common room with a smile on her face. She truly missed her mother and now her mother would be fine since Goyle had killed their father. She realized her mother didn't know of her father's departure from life and the thought of telling her, scared her and she had no plans of telling her Goyle did it.**_

_**Gabriella decided to eat some breakfast so she headed to the Great Hall. The smile remained on her face until she arrived in the Great Hall and she witnessed a cloaked figure standing by the Slytherin table. Students who decided to eat breakfast paid no attention to the cloaked figure, but Gabriella's heart feared for the worst. She feared Voldemort had finally come to punish her. **_

_**The cloaked figure raised both hands and lowered the hood of the cloak. The face of a middle-aged woman with light brown hair appeared. She didn't look old in years, but in fact, she still looked beautiful. Her eyes were bright, but had dark lines underneath, showing stress put upon her throughout the years. She raised her arms as if to signal Gabriella to hug her.**_

_**Gabriella ran forward and embraced her mother in a hug. Her mother wrapped her arms around her, holding her tight and stroked Gabriella's hair with her hand. After a few minutes, they released from the hug. "I've missed you so much dear." Mrs. Goyle said as she moved some of Gabriella's hair out of her face.**_

"_**I missed you too." Gabriella replied.**_

"_**Let's sit down." Mrs. Goyle suggested, gesturing with her arm as she had a smile on her face.**_

_**Gabriella nodded and the two of them sat down at the Slytherin table. Some of the students acted awkward, but Mrs. Goyle had been a Slytherin so she had sat at the table many years ago. "Not that I'm not happy, but why are you here?" Gabriella asked.**_

_**Mrs. Goyle smiled. "I wanted to see my children and see what's been going on with them," she replied. "So speaking of children, where is Gregory?" She asked.**_

"_**He's still sleeping as usual." Gabriella answered.**_

_**Her mother gave a slight laugh at that. "Well, we can find him later," she suggested. "Right now, I want to know what has been going on with you."**_

"_**Nothing really." Gabriella lied.**_

_**Mrs. Goyle gave her a look. "I've been in a coma for months. Don't lie to me." She demanded.**_

"_**A lot of bad things have happened so you don't want to know." Gabriella replied, trying to avoid the answers. **_

"_**I don't care. I want to know the truth." Her mother explained.**_

_**Gabriella inhaled deeply. "I became a Death Eater, met a boy, almost got raped, shagged the boy, got attacked by dad, watched Greg kill father, fell in love with the boy, and now I'm sitting here with you." She explained, exhaling at the end.**_

_**Mrs. Goyle remained silent for a bit and looked at her daughter with concern. "Gregory killed your father, my husband?" She asked, trying to let it sink in.**_

_**Gabriella nodded. "Yes. He did it to protect me so I wouldn't have to." She answered.**_

_**Her mother embraced Gabriella's hand and squeezed it gently. "I don't plan on understanding everything, but we must be there for Gregory," she explained. "If it hasn't hit him yet, then it will in the future."**_

_**Gabriella nodded and looked her mother in the eyes. "Are you mad?" She asked, wanting her mother's approval.**_

"_**No. I only stayed with your father for Gregory and you. I wanted us to be a family, even though it never worked. About the other things you told me, I don't understand, but it was your choice."**_

_**Gabriella smiled and hugged her mother for a second. "Thank you." She said.**_

_**Mrs. Goyle just smirked as something caught her eye. "So. Is this boy you've been so intimately involved with Draco Malfoy?" She asked.**_

_**Gabriella looked shocked. "How do you know?" She asked curiously.**_

_**Her mother just smirked. "Because he can't keep his eyes off you." She answered.**_

_**Gabriella turned around to see Draco looking at her as he entered the Great Hall She waved to him and he waved back. Draco walked over to them and remained standing while they sat. "Hello, Mrs. Goyle." He greeted her.**_

"_**Hello Draco. Is it true you love my daughter?" She asked.**_

_**Gabriella turned back to her mother. "Mum!" She exclaimed feeling embarrassed.**_

_**Draco's cheeks turned pink as he nodded. "Would you like me to get Goyle for you?" He asked politely.**_

_**Mrs. Goyle smiled. "Yes. That would be nice dear." She replied.**_

_**Draco nodded and excused himself before leaving. Gabriella gave her mother a look. "Why did you do that?" She asked.**_

_**All of a sudden the walls and floor shook, causing dust to fall from the ceiling. "What was that?!" Gabriella shouted.**_

_**Hogwarts vibrated again as if an earthquake were happening. The two decided to stand up now. At this same moment, Professor McGonagall came bursting into the Great Hall. "All students to their common rooms immediately!" She shouted.**_

_**Students started to run around frantically and back to their common rooms. However, this didn't work because the battle began. The Battle of Hogwarts flowed through the castle as Death Eaters appeared and fought with students. "What do we do?" Gabriella asked.**_

"_**I'll stay and fight. Find your brother." Mrs. Goyle demanded, sending her daughter into a battle.**_

_**Gabriella ran past the frantic students and staff members as she traveled to the Slytherin common room. Cloaked figures were battling it out with students and some spells misfired, causing people to accidentally hit their allies. Species of magical creatures started to mix in like the centaurs, house elves, and giants. It made Hogwarts look like an interracial convention or a wizarding world version of the United Nations.**_

_**Gabriella sprinted passed duals, ducking spells as she went. She heard others crying out for lost loved ones while others cried out in pure anger while dueling their enemy. Flashes of light; red, green, purple, blue, orange, scattered the air while the victims of war started to scatter the floor. All there seemed to be had become scattered. Spells. Rubble. Bodies. All exposed to the world from their once perfect form or being.**_

_**Gabriella continued to run as she ignored the factors at play. Her heart pounded with fear of never finding or seeing those she loved again and for exhaustion from the search. She finally reached the Slytherin common room, passing the casualties of battle. She found her way through the portrait hole after what seemed like minutes, but had been merely seconds. Everything felt like it appeared to be happening in slow motion like they were meant to remember every little detail of a flower.**_

_**Gabriella looked around the common room to only see younger students being gathered up by Professor Slughorn. He directed them to the Great Hall, but the only older students remaining were a couple of prefects, but they weren't Draco or her brother. After a few minutes of searching, she concluded they weren't in the common room so she left.**_

_**Gabriella ran through hallways and corridors again. She passed various statues with pieces broken off from misfired spells or people using the statues for protection. She passed portraits where people had left or the image had been torn, leaving the paintings fragmented as if they were an unfinished thought. Eventually she noticed Potter flying out of the Room of Requirement with his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. **_

_**Gabriella's eyes went wide as she noticed Draco and Goyle caught up in this. The trio was setting down the two and Gabriella witnessed words being exchanged before the trio left. Gabriella ran over to them and knelt down beside the two since they were both on the ground. Draco's eyes were closed as he laid there passed out so Gabriella's first reaction involved shaking him. Her second thought involved slapping him, but luckily, he woke up because he already looked pretty beaten up. "Draco!" She shouted, still shaking him after he woke up.**_

_**Draco looked at her confused. "Gabby?" He questioned.**_

_**She nodded and then looked to her brother who appeared to be alright, but he had a look of shock as he stood there in silence. "Are you alright?" She asked her brother.**_

_**Goyle didn't reply so Gabriella turned back to Draco. "What's wrong with him?" She asked.**_

_**Draco remained quiet for a few seconds. "Crabbe is dead." He answered.**_

"_**Oh no." Gabriella said, almost gasping.**_

_**Just then, a flash of red light flew past Gabriella and hit Goyle in the chest, sending him backwards and falling to the floor unconscious. "Greg!" Gabriella shouted as she tried to run over to him.**_

_**Draco grabbed her by the shoulders and stopped her. He gazed into her eyes and became extremely serious. "Go to the Great Hall where everyone is gathering. I'll stay and fight and bring Goyle when I'm done." He demanded and explained his plan like a general.**_

"_**No!" Gabriella explained.**_

"_**Listen to me. There is no point in both of us trying not to die. I will get Greg back to you." He explained.**_

_**Gabriella nodded, as she never heard Draco call her brother Greg before. She knew this meant business so she gave him one last passionate kiss before running off. Her heart raced frantically as she ran, fear for her brother and Draco running through her mind. She ran back to the Great Hall, but along the way, she fell backwards from a knock back spell a Death Eater threw at her.**_

_**Gabriella had been hit by one of her own. She forced herself to stand up to face her attacker. The individual stood a few feet from her and showed their face.**_

_**Gabriella's face went askew as she witnessed the revealed face of Macnair. "Macnair?" She questioned.**_

_**He grinned evilly. "Oh, don't look so stunned Gabriella." He requested.**_

"_**Why are you doing this?" She asked, wondering his intentions.**_

"_**Voldemort's little miss perfect. Too bad you couldn't even kill your own father." He taunted.**_

"_**It's not my fault the Dark Lord picks favorites, but you should know he loves none." She explained.**_

"_**Well, it was I who had to make your father's death look so innocent. I was left with the cleanup." He explained some more.**_

_**Gabriella smirked. "Oh, boo hoo you whiney old fart of a lackey." She teased, being sort of a hypocrite for using the term lackey.**_

"_**Lackey?" he growled, pointing his wand at her. "Rictumsempra!" He shouted.**_

_**Gabriella flew backwards and fell on the ground hard. She didn't let it faze her because she picked herself up rather quickly. "That all you got, stooge?" She mocked him, grinning.**_

_**Macnair grinned evilly. "Sectumsempra!" He shouted.**_

_**The curse scraped the top of Gabriella's shoulder. The flesh split open and red, hot, sticky blood came bursting out. It could have been worse if it had been more then a scrape. She didn't let it faze her even though it felt painful. She winced, but smiled at him. "Come on henchman. Give it to me good this time." She provoked, trying to make fun of his status as a follower.**_

_**Macnair glared at her. He repeated the same curse, which hurt Gabriella's shoulder. Gabriella ducked and rolled on the ground. She quickly stood back up and pointed her wand at Macnair. "Bored now," she said. "Avada Kedavra." She uttered, sending the green light of the Killing Curse at him.**_

_**The Killing Curse hit him squarely in the chest. His last breath escaped his lungs before collapsing onto the ground, dead. His body added to the various bodies scattered around, collecting like dust on the mantle of a fireplace.**_

_**The little duel with Macnair had delayed her return to the Great Hall. She ran again, passing the screams and cries of victims. Then, as if the calm after a storm, everything went quiet. She thought she had gone deaf or nuts, but the silence followed with cheering, which came from the Great Hall. Black clouds formed and disappeared as Death Eaters departed and ran away for their lives. **_

_**The battle had ended, and now Gabriella feared she had been too late to see her brother or her love, Draco, again. She felt like she should have never left them as she finally entered the Great hall. Her eyes went wide as she noticed Voldemort's lifeless corpse just lying there. She really didn't care as people kept cheering. **_

_**After a few minutes, the cheering subsided as people realized the weight of the battle. Families went back to mourning over their loved ones and friends lined up on the floor. Gabriella ignored them, hoping her brother and Draco wouldn't be amongst the cold corpses. She frantically searched the room, and then she spotted him. Goyle stood in the middle of a group of people, hugging his mother. **_

_**Gabriella ran over to the two of them. "Mum! Greg!" She exclaimed.**_

_**Her mother and brother looked up and released from their hug. Instead, they both wrapped their arms around Gabriella. "Oh my dear Gabby." Mrs. Goyle cried, a few tears falling down her cheeks. **_

_**They held Gabriella for a few minutes, but Goyle squeezed her really tight, causing her to suffocate slightly. "Oxygen becoming an issue." She informed him.**_

_**Out of reaction, both of them let her go. "Sorry," apologized Goyle. "I became worried once I came out of it and Draco told me he sent you away."**_

_**Gabriella smiled as if to tell him not to worry. "Where is Draco?" She asked.**_

_**Goyle pointed and Gabriella found Draco with her eyes from Goyle's direction. She watched Draco being hugged by his parents. She could tell Lucius and Narcissa were relieved, but scared at the same time. "Go on dear." Mrs. Goyle said. **_

_**Gabriella nodded and walked over to the three blonde Malfoys huddled around each other. "Hello." Gabriella said, not sure of what else to say.**_

_**The Malfoys looked at her and Draco instantly hugged her. "You're alright." He stated, sounding like denial.**_

_**Narcissa smiled while Lucius remained like a statue, but he paid attention closely. "I'm glad you're alright for Draco's sake," said Narcissa truthfully. "I guess he wouldn't be here without you because of the task Voldemort gave you."**_

_**Gabriella and Draco looked at Narcissa. Draco's look resembled guilt since he had told his mother how Gabriella had been told to kill him. Gabriella's look resembled shock and guilt also. "I never-"**_

_**Narcissa cut her off. "I know you couldn't have killed him and I thank you for not killing him." She said, as if praising Gabriella.**_

_**Gabriella just smiled as Narcissa nudged Lucius in the side as if signaling him to say something. It actually worked because Lucius looked at Gabriella. "You are welcome into our home and family anytime." He revealed with sympathy, which usually never presented itself.**_

_**Narcissa, Draco, and Gabriella smiled at Lucius, all feeling something towards him they had never really felt before. "Thank you." Gabriella said, expressing her gratitude. **_

_**Lucius nodded as Draco hugged Gabriella again. "I really am glad you're alright." He said.**_

"_**I know. And you made sure my brother made it." She stated.**_

"_**Well, I couldn't have a pissed off girlfriend if I didn't." He joked.**_

_**She laughed slightly, which caused her shoulder to hurt. She winced and Draco noticed, causing him to pull away from their hug. "You should get that taken care of." He suggested.**_

"_**Let's worry about it later. Right now, just don't let me go." She demanded.**_

_**Draco smiled and wrapped his arms back around her. "Never." He said, holding her tight.**_


	11. Chapter 11: Nineteen Years Later

Draco Malfoy descended down the stairs of his home. At the age of 36, he looked the part by sporting long, blonde hair, similar to his father's. He kept the hair pulled back neatly unlike his father and time added to his age by the formation of a slight beard. He still resembled his former self from Hogwarts, but years and events in his life, turned him into a man.

Now, Draco stepped on the main floor of his house. It felt more like a home then a piece of property. The house never came close in size to the Malfoy Manor, but it had been enough to make him happy. The contents of the house made it the home he loved and more then a possession in his eyes.

The house remained simple, which included enough bedrooms for everyone. There were five bedrooms in total, each garnished with the individuals' likings and belongings. Amongst the bedrooms on the second floor, included a library. The library remained small in size, but the books varied from Hogwarts textbooks to new publishing. The library had been used more for an office then anything else since Draco needed a place to work.

On the main floor, there included two bathrooms, a living room, dining room, and a kitchen where Gabriella Malfoy had now been cooking breakfast. The quaint little kitchen filled with the aroma of scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast. The kitchen table had already been set for five people with the same matching plates and silverware.

Draco walked over to his beautiful wife and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. He placed his hands on her bulging stomach in which she carried twins, which were five months along. He placed his chin on her shoulder and kissed her neck gently. "You look beautiful, but you shouldn't be doing all this since you're pregnant." He explained, whispering into her ear.

Gabriella smiled because her husband cared so much. "I'm fine, but could you get the orange juice and set it on the table for me?" She asked politely.

Draco kissed her neck again. "Certainly," he replied before releasing his embrace upon her. He stepped over to the refrigerator, which they had to keep things cold, and pulled out the orange juice. He set the pitcher full of orange liquid down onto the table. "Would you like me to pour it also?" He asked.

"Yes please." Gabriella said, finishing the breakfast she had been cooking.

Draco poured orange juice into the five glasses while Gabriella placed some scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast onto each plate before setting the extra in the middle of the table. "Did you wake the children?" Gabriella asked as she sat down, finally resting her feet from the weight of the pregnancy.

"Yes I did." Draco answered, sitting down next to his wife.

Gabriella sighed. "Typical," she said, referring to the children. "Breakfast!" She shouted.

Draco smirked at his wife. "You always were the loud one." He teased.

Gabriella just smiled as their first child; a blonde-haired boy came running down the stairs. Two girls followed closely behind, one older and one younger, but both younger than the boy. The older girl shoved past the younger one who seemed to walk down the stairs slower then the rest.

Eventually the eleven-year-old boy and the eight year-old-girl sat at the table. The youngest walked over to her father, and he picked her up and placed her down in the chair next to his. She had only been four years old so it still made it difficult for her to reach things.

Once they were all seated at the table, Gabriella looked at her oldest daughter. "You know it's not nice to shove your sister, Scelestus." She said, informing her daughter of her rude behavior.

Scelestus shoved some scrambled eggs into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed before replying. "I can't help it that she's slow." She teased.

"She's four years old dear. You were once slow too." Gabriella stated.

"Yeah right." Scelestus denied.

Draco smirked as he just finished a bite of toast. "I can see why we named her Scelestus." He joked.

Scelestus looked at both of her parents. "Why? What does my name mean?" She asked.

"It means wicked." Gabriella answered.

Scelestus smiled as if she had been pleased with her name, and then she continued to eat her breakfast.

"Mommy," cut in the little four year-old. "What does my name mean?" She asked.

Gabriella smiled as she brushed some of the long, brown hair from the girl's face that had been sitting between Gabriella and Draco so they could help her eat breakfast. "Bellus means beautiful," answered Gabriella. "Your father gave you the name because he thought you looked so much like me."

Little Bellus, who they called Bell for short, smiled and tried to eat her scrambled eggs that kept falling off the fork.

Gabriella turned her attention to her blonde son who appeared to be poking at his food like he didn't feel hungry. "Are you alright dear? Is this about your name meaning scorpion?" She asked, worried about her son and half-joking since their conversation seemed to revolve around the meanings of names.

Scorpius Malfoy looked up from his plate of food to meet his mother's worried gaze. "It's not about my name. I'm worried about going to Hogwarts today." He answered, looking worried.

"You will do fine." His mother said, trying to make him feel better.

Scorpius sighed. "But what if I end up in Gryffindor?" He asked, with worry.

Draco looked at his son, remembering his enemies, which had been in Gryffindor. "Many brave people end up in Gryffindor, including the one who killed Voldemort," he explained, as if he had told the tale to his children before. "I believe your mother could have been in Gryffindor because she was brave back at Hogwarts."

Gabriella smiled. "It doesn't matter which house you end up in." She stated.

Scorpius nodded. "Alright. Is Uncle Greg and Aunt Reyna going to be there with cousin Lena?" He asked, seeming excited at the idea.

Gabriella nodded. "Yes dear. It is Lena's first year as well." She replied.

Scelestus cut in at this point. "I want to go then!" She exclaimed.

"Me too!" Little Bellus shouted.

"Well, it's up to your father. He's taking Scorpius and I'm not sure if he is opening the shop afterwards." Gabriella explained, referring to the Potions shop Draco owned in Diagon Alley.

"I closed it for the day and informed St. Mungo's and the Ministry I could not supply them today, so technically it's up to your mother because I want her to come with us." Draco explained, smirking at his wife.

"Please mum!" Shouted the girls.

Gabriella smirked back at her husband because they knew the children would beg. "Alright," she said. "Grab your cloaks."

The two little girls ran over to the individual hangers to grab their cloaks. The oldest, Scelestus, put her black cloak on right away while the little four year-old, Bellus, jumped up trying to reach hers. Gabriella stood up and walked over to the hooks on the wall and grabbed her daughter's cloak. Bellus smiled at her mother while putting on the tiny pink cloak. "It would be nice if you could help your sister." Gabriella said, sliding on her oversized cloak so it would cover her belly.

"Good thing I'll end up in Slytherhin because Slytherins help their friends." Scelestus replied.

"We'll see about that," stated Gabriella, knowing her daughter would probably end up in Slytherin anyways. "And what house do you want to be in someday, dear?" She asked, smiling at Bellus.

"Hufflepuff!" She exclaimed with excitement.

Gabriella gave a half-laugh to this answer. "Well, they are bold." She said, as her daughter Scelestus looked disgusted.

At this same time, Draco went upstairs with his son, Scorpius, to help him with his trunk and other possessions he needed for Hogwarts. "You all packed son?" He asked, sitting on his son's bed.

"Yes." Scorpius replied, sitting next to his father on the bed.

"I have something for you." Draco said, pulling a picture from his pocket and showing it to his son.

The picture displayed Draco and Gabriella when they were younger. They held a tiny baby in a blue blanket. "What is it?" Scorpius asked, slightly confused.

Draco smiled as he looked at the picture, obviously remembering the event it captured. "It's a picture of your mother and I holding you shortly after you were born," he explained. "I want you to keep it close if you get scared and remember how much your mother and I love you."

Scorpius nodded and took the picture, placing it in his pocket. "Thanks dad." He said, before giving his father a hug.

Draco hugged him back and released from the hug after a few seconds. "You can write us anytime," he offered. "Then again, you better write or your mum might kill you." He joked.

Scorpius grinned slightly. "Alright." He said.

Draco stood up from the bed. "Well, we better get going. We don't want to be late." He stated, stepping over to his son's trunk and picking it up.

Scorpius stood up and stepped over to his tawny owl, which seemed restless in its cage. He picked up the cage and the owl hooted slightly. He followed his father down the stairs who had already descended down them, making his way to the main floor where his wife and two daughters waited.

The five of them huddled near the fireplace since they would travel by Floo Powder. A special system had been set up for families to take them to King's Cross. It only worked on the departure day to Hogwarts, holidays, and the return day from Hogwarts. It also had been enchanted to look like a hallway so muggles wouldn't see random people popping into a fireplace.

"I'll go first," stated Draco, devising his plan. "Then, Scorpius and Scelestus, followed by you with Bell." He explained, looking at his wife.

Gabriella nodded as Draco grabbed some Floo Powder off of the mantle of the fireplace with one hand, while the other hand held his son's trunk. He stepped into the fireplace and shouted, "King's Cross!" and threw down the powder, causing him to be consumed by green flames before disappearing.

Scorpius followed close behind with his owl as he went next. Then, went Scelestus followed by Gabriella and Bellus last. Gabriella held her daughter's little hand with her own and the Floo Powder in the other hand. "Hold on tight." She said to her daughter before speaking their destination, throwing down the powder, and disappearing into the green flames.

On the other side, they had all arrived safely to King's Cross. Draco had summoned a cart and placed his son's belongings on it before Gabriella and Bellus had made it to the other side. Little Bellus still had a hold of her mother's hand while Scelestus held her father's hand as if they were overwhelmed and scared by the surroundings.

Draco handed the cart over to his son so Scorpius could push it. "We better get to Platform nine and three quarters." Draco suggested.

The five Malfoys walked passed muggles as they reached the space between platforms nine and ten. Scorpius looked up, trying to find a sign for the platform he needed. "I don't see it." He said, looking confused.

Draco pointed to the brick wall, which led to the Hogwarts Express. "You have to run at the wall." He explained.

Scorpius looked at his father with wide eyes. "You want me to run into a wall?!" He exclaimed, questioning his father.

Draco chuckled slightly. "You will go through the wall. The train is on the other side." He explained.

"Oh." Scorpius replied as if he were dumbfounded. Then, he ran towards the wall while pushing his cart. He disappeared and the rest of his family followed in pursuit behind him.

On the other side, the Malfoy family reunited again. Wizarding families scurried around trying to say goodbye to their children. Some faces looked familiar while others looked brand new. Two faces caught the eyes of the Malfoys when they looked around. "Uncle Greg! Aunt Reyna!" The three Malfoy children shouted.

Gregory Goyle and his wife, Reyna, walked over to them. They all hugged each other before speaking. "Where's Lena?" Scorpius asked.

"She's already on the train. You know her. Always wants to be early to learn new things. She will probably end up in Ravenclaw." Goyle explained, smirking.

"Well, I was in Ravenclaw and there is nothing wrong with that." Reyna explained, acting proud and defensive.

Goyle kissed his wife on the cheek. "I know."

Scelestus and Bellus looked bummed when they heard Lena had already boarded the train because she had been their only cousin. Goyle noticed their expression. "Oh, don't look so bummed girls. You will see Lena on the holidays and just think, soon you will have some more siblings." He explained, smiling.

Bellus smiled at the thought, but Scelestus looked disgusted. "Do you know what they are yet?" Reyna asked.

"Twin boys." Gabriella answered.

"Any ideas for names?" Reyna asked, being curious of her future nephews.

"Leo and Luca." Gabriella answered, putting her hand on her stomach.

"Well, I don't know how you do it honestly. I don't think I would be able to raise five children." Reyna said, giving her a compliment.

Gabriella looked at her husband and smiled at him. Draco smiled back and he knew why they had so many children. Other then love, he knew it had been because he had been an only child. He hated growing up without siblings, and in fact, he had been slightly jealous of the Weasley family because they had so many family members.

"Well, we have to be going. The Ministry has been working me over time," explained Goyle before hugging his sister. "Let's have dinner soon and take care." He said.

"Take care, Greg." Gabriella said.

They all exchanged their goodbyes before they stepped closer to the train. It almost had become time for Scorpius to leave. Draco pulled his son aside and bent down to his son's level. "Remember what I said earlier?" He asked.

Scorpius nodded. "Yes father," he answered. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too son," Draco said, hugging his son.

Then, Scorpius hugged his younger sisters and lastly he hugged his mother. She couldn't bend down so his arms tried to wrap around her bulging stomach. "I love you mum." He said, while Gabriella tried her best to hug him back.

"I love you too," she replied before letting him go. "Have fun, but don't forget to write."

Scorpius turned to his father and smirked, remembering how his father joked about his mother killing him if he didn't write. He walked back to his father, but something caught Draco's eye.

Draco noticed Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, and Hermione Granger dropping off their children although he figured the women last names had changed. Draco knelt down to his son again. "You see those children over there?" He asked, looking at the children.

"Yes." Scorpius said, looking to the children and then back to his father.

Draco looked at his son with seriousness. "Be nice to them. They could end up saving your life one day." He explained.

"Yes father." Scorpius said before giving his father one last hug and boarding the train and disappearing.

After a few minutes, the train whistled and smoke came out of the smoke stack before it started to roll away. Scorpius waved out of the window and his family waved back until he had drifted too far away to see.

At this same moment, something caught Bellus' eye so she pulled her hand out of her mother's and ran off.

"Bell!" Gabriella shouted, watching her daughter run right over to Harry Potter.

Draco acted quickly by handing Scelestus over to her mother. Scelestus took her mother's hand and Draco ran after Bellus with slight caution as he noticed Harry Potter had been the person to catch his daughter's eye.

"You're Harry Potter!" Bellus exclaimed.

Harry bent down slightly. "Why yes I am." He said smiling even though he noticed this girl belonged to Draco Malfoy.

"I read a story book about you. You killed that evil Vodlemodle guy." She said, butchering Voldemort's name.

Just then, Draco reached his daughter, knelt down to her, and turned her around, putting his hands on her shoulders. "What have I told you about running off like that?" He questioned his daughter.

"Sorry daddy." She replied before being picked up by her father and held onto her with one arm.

"Sorry about that. She has a mind of her own sometimes." Draco apologized, feeling very awkward.

Gabriella and Scelestus finally reached Draco since Gabriella couldn't run because of her protruding stomach. Silence overcame everyone as the awkwardness set in more.

Hermione decided to be the polite one as usual by breaking the silence. She noticed Gabriella's stomach and smiled at her. "Looks like you've been busy." She implied while holding onto Hugo's hand.

Gabriella smiled. "Yes I have." She replied.

"How rude of me. This is my wife, Gabriella, and my daughter Scelestus," he introduced them, pointing to each one. "And you've already met Bellus here," he explained, bouncing his daughter slightly. "We came to drop off our son Scorpius."

Ron tried to hold back a laugh at the name. Hermione nudged him in the side and Ron rubbed his side because it actually hurt.

Draco ignored Ron's rudeness since he figured he deserved it anyways.

"Ron and I came to drop off our daughter, Rose, but this is Hugo." She explained, pointing out her son.

Scelestus smiled at Hugo and at the girl trying to hide behind Ginny.

Harry seemed tense but he kept his cool. "Ginny and I came to drop off our sons, James and Albus, and this little girl here is my daughter, Lily." He explained, gesturing to his daughter.

"It's okay." Ginny said, trying to convince her daughter to stop hiding even though she didn't like Draco.

Lily stepped out from behind her mother but still held her mother's hand.

Harry glanced at each of Draco's children including Gabriella's stomach before looking at Draco. "Let's hope our children won't end up like us." Harry said.

Hermione, Ron, and Ginny seemed uneasy as Harry said this, as they feared Draco would start something.

The words stung Draco slightly but he understood. "They won't," he said, making it sound like a promise. "Now if you'll excuse us, we must be going. Good day." He explained, bidding them farewell.

Draco Malfoy and his family walked away from the Potters and Weasleys. He walked away knowing his children wouldn't end up like how they once were. If things looked like his children would, then he would do everything in his power so they wouldn't. He could live with that, but most of all, Draco walked away knowing his life had been happy and everything he wanted it to be.


End file.
